Meet My Friend Chaos
by dizappearingirl
Summary: Danny counted his problems one by one: the Box Ghost, the new girl, that strange ghost he had just met, his sinking grades, Technus, Desiree, Skulker, and worst of all Vlad. All of them one by one making his life just a little more chaotic.
1. Ghostly Encounter

**Dizgirl: **(Sings) Gonna catch them all 'cause he's Danny Phantom! Dun-dun dun dun dun 'cause he's Danny Phantom! Hello peoples! Hey! Look at me! I finally **wrote** something! YAY! This is really quite an accomplishment for me. So, please read and review! Please! Oh, and Enjoy and Love!

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**Ghostly Encounter**

The sun set with a vivid show of red and gold, leaving behind the glow of the city lights sparkling in the darkness. It was a peaceful evening and promised to be an even calmer night decorated with the distant stars and half-full moon. But, though the city appeared quiet and serene, there was one person who seemed oblivious to the passive night breeze and beautiful starry sky.

A girl ran down a dimly lit street, thrown into light and shadow as she ran beneath the street lamps. She breathed in short, sharp gasps, throwing fearful glances behind her as if she was being chased. She stopped momentarily beneath the bright yellow glow of one of the street lamps, bent over and gasping for breath. Her dark brown hair was slowly falling out of the braid it had been in earlier that day and she distractedly brushed the stray hairs out of her face.

"Need…to hide…where?" she wheezed as she looked around wildly. She stopped and cocked her head as if listening to some sound, though the street was silent. Nodding, she took off down the street, cutting into a dead-end alleyway. She leaned against the brick wall and closed her eyes, still breathing heavily.

"Where do…I go, Chaos?" she whispered and turned to see as the form of a ghost slowly pushed its way out of her side and landed next to her. The ghost girl glanced at her with glowing red eyes and then looked at their surroundings, crossing her pale, thin arms.

"Anywhere but where we came from," she muttered. "That ghost has got it in for us, Raimee." The human girl shuddered slightly, and then pushed herself off of the wall.

"Then we need to get out of here and get home," she said firmly. "Get back in me and take over. Then, we can go invisible and fly out of here." The ghost girl nodded briefly before phasing into Raimee. The human girl's normally forest green eyes turned bright red and glowed softly.

"We're out of here," she said, though the voice was that of the ghost girl, Chaos. There was a low chuckle from the front of the alleyway. She whipped around, and stared at the silhouette of large ghost, floating off the ground a few feet away from her.

"I don't think you are going anywhere my ghostly friend," said the ghost. He pushed his cape away, revealing his costume of white and black.

"Plasmius…" the girl/ghost snarled. "Go back to where you came from and leave us alone!"

"Ah ah ah, we can't have that. Manners, girl, are very important, but it is a shame you won't have the chance to learn them." His hands glowed a bright magenta, illuminating his pale, bluish face and wicked smile. He pulled his arm back and shot a blast of ectoplasm at her. She jumped back and then took off into the skies. Plasmius followed her, shooting off several more ecto-blasts, though she dodged all of them. She turned around and sent him a glare, but that was exactly what he was waiting for and took the brief moment she had her guard down to blast her with another ray of magenta light.

She cried out in pain, flying several feet back in midair before regaining her balance. Plasmius soared up to her and grabbed her by the neck.

"Now, let's get rid of this human shell you're wearing shall we?" Chaos/Raimee screamed as she was bombarded by electrical charges racing through her body. The two girls separated and Plasmius held the two with each of his black-gloved hands. Raimee hung limply, completely unconscious but Chaos struggled against his tight grip.

"Let me go! Let **her** go!" She demanded.

"As you wish," he said with a grin. He let go of the human girl who tumbled to the ground, landing hard on the sidewalk below.

"No! Raimee!" The ghost girl's eyes burned red with hatred as she pulled with all her might, but his grip was vice-like. She growled in frustration.

"It's useless to struggle, girl. Now that you are in my hands, there is no way you can escape my latest creation." He pushed a small button on the shoulder of his right arm. Metal plates appeared and wrapped themselves around his arm from his shoulder to his wrist. Five prongs sprung out of the end of it and attached to each of his fingers.

"This," he continued proudly, "is my Ability Absorber. A rather handy device I came up with a few months ago. I've tested it on several ghosts, but they didn't have what I want." He looked at her, smirking at the fearful look Chaos was giving the mechanical arm. "Fortunately, **you** do have what I want."

"Me?" she asked in confusion. "I don't have anything."

"Ah, but you do, girl, you do. You see you have the unique gift of phasing into a human but not possess them—if it pleases you. **And**, you have the ability of becoming undetectable to all ghost-sensing equipment when you do it." His eyes glowed red and he raised his right arm encased in the metal machine.

"That is indeed a rare and valuable skill I would love to have for my own. And so I shall, as soon as I take it from you." Chaos looked at the arm apprehensively.

"Sorry to disappoint you but that is not in my plans," she said defiantly. Her body shone with an eerie black light and her eyes went red. "So…get off of me!" The black light burst around her, shocking Plasmius and released his grip on her throat. He looked up at her in surprise, but quickly covered it with an evil grin.

"And that will make taking your powers even more worth it," he stated, shaking off the pain in his left hand.

"No one gets my powers except me!" Chaos exclaimed. She held up her hand; each of the fingertips were glowing a brilliant red. "And here's one of my favorites: Chaos Sparks!" A small ball of red light left each of the five fingers and flew quickly over to Plasmius. He quickly raised a square shield, but watched in surprise as the five glowing dots swerved away from the shield, flew around him and hit him square in the back. For a second, it looked like the sparks had done nothing. Plasmius turned to look at the ghost girl, his sneer quickly returning, when he was suddenly overcome with excruciating pain. He doubled over as bolts of black and white lightning snaked their way around his body, striking him again and again. He let out a cry of pain and frustration.

Chaos watched him for a moment and then turned away, floating down to where her friend lay unconscious. She picked Raimee up and looked back at the evil ghost.

"I said to leave us alone but **you** wouldn't listen. And **that's** only the beginning of my power." She went invisible and flew away, barely making out the strangled cry of "fudge buckets!" before disappearing into the night.

* * *

Raimee woke with a start, sitting straight up and crying out, "Chaos!" She whipped her head around, searching her familiar bedroom for her ghostly friend.

"Hey, I'm right here," a voice murmured to her left. Raimee looked up to see Chaos floating out from the wall behind her bed.

"Oh! You're all right!" Relief washed through her deep green eyes and she relaxed, resting her back against the headboard.

"Of course I'm all right!" The ghost girl stated, resting her hands on her hips. "Nothing can harm me!" She winced and wrapped a thin arm around her stomach, floating down to sit on the end of Raimee's bed. "Well almost…"

"Are you okay?" the human girl asked with concern. Chaos waved her hand dismissively.

"I'm fine, but how 'bout **you**?" Raimee rubbed the back of her head gingerly.

"Well, my head hurts and I feel all achy and sore. Did you use my body?" She didn't seem very concerned about the idea and she held no accusation in her eyes, only mild, interested curiosity.

"No," the ghost girl responded seriously. "When that ghost—Plasmius or whatever—grabbed and shocked us, you fell and hit the sidewalk. I'm sorry I couldn't catch you."

"No no! You were probably fighting him off! Don't worry about it!" Chaos looked outside at the half-full moon with a slight frown on her face. Raimee sent her a don't-you-dare-feel-guilty look.

"So?" Raimee prompted. Chaos sighed.

"So, we fought," she responded.

"And you won," Raimee surmised, smiling at her friend.

"Of course," Chaos sniffed as she gave a small smile of her own. "I just used my Chaos Sparks and we were out of there!" Her hand glowed momentarily red and she looked down at it proudly.

"Whew, well I'm glad that you're safe," Raimee closed her eyes. "And I'm glad that **I'm** safe—thank you." Chaos shrugged, floating towards the window, her black hair flowing softly around her thin shoulders.

"No prob. Personally, I can't wait 'til we move away from here. I'm sure you are too?" She looked at her human friend who opened her eyes and nodded.

"Yes. It will be hard to leave Wisconsin, but dad's company is moving, and us along with it." Chaos turned back to the brightly lit cityscape.

"The ghost won't follow us there," she said quietly.

"I don't think so…" Raimee looked contemplative. "I sure hope our new home--"

"—Amity Park?" The ghost interjected.

"Yeah," Raimee answered. "I hope it's a lot calmer than here." Chaos turned around.

"You know us," she said with amusement. "We attract trouble."

"We sure do, don't we?" Raimee smiled wryly. The two laughed appreciatively.

"Yeah…" Chaos began. "I'm sure Plasmius will be furious when he finds out we've slipped through his fingers! Ha!" She grinned, her bright red eyes dancing with humor.

"That would be amusing to see." The two girls looked up as they heard footsteps outside the darkened bedroom.

"Quick! Inside me!" Raimee commanded. Chaos dove into her body and Raimee rolled over and pulled the blanket to her chin.

There was a knock on the door and a deep voice whispering, "Raimee? Are you awake?" A man opened the door and stepped into the room. He hesitated, staring at the back of Raimee's head.

"Asleep…" he said softly. He moved around the room, a small, fatherly smile pulling at his lips as he looked at the boxes full of his daughter's possessions. He made his way over to her bed and looked down at her sleeping form. "Goodnight…" he murmured. He walked to the door, glanced back at Raimee, and quietly left.

As soon as the door closed, Chaos slipped out and turned to face Raimee.

"So, about Plasmius. I mean there's no way he could find us in… " she trailed off when she saw that the girl had actually fallen asleep.

Chaos smiled, not surprised by this at all. What with the stress of packing, moving somewhere new, saying goodbye to her hometown it was no wonder she was exhausted. Then, if you added the fact that she was chased around town tonight by some crazy fruit loop of a ghost, it was amazing she was still alive! Chaos looked out the window again, sighing.

"But we're moving away from here…and him. We'll be safe."


	2. The New Girl with the Ghost Shirt

**Dizgirl:** Okay, I can't help but think in episodes. I mean, it **is** a TV show! So, just think of the first chap being that little intro they always put before the opening song. Meaning now we would have the song: _Yo!_ _Danny Fenton, he was just fourteen when his parents built a very strange machine…_and you know the rest. If not, go look it up and/or watch the episodes!

On another note, I would like to thank my reviewers so very much. THANKS SO MUCH! You make me so happy. So that's pretty much it. Now we move on to the next chapter! Enjoy and Love!

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**The New Girl with the Ghost Shirt  
**

Sam Manson walked down the crowded hallway, ignoring the groups of students rushing past her in the opposite direction. She made it through a particularly excited group of band geeks and came up next to Danny, who had just arrived at his locker.

"Hey Danny," she greeted him, watching as he yawned widely and stretched.

"Hey Sam." Sam quirked an eyebrow, noting the dark bags underneath his eyes.

"You look awful," she said with concern. Danny opened his locker and started collecting his books. She looked pointedly at him.

"It was a late night," he replied, turning towards her. "There was this flock of bird ghosts on top of the movie theater and they didn't like to be interrupted."

"Did you get them all?" Sam asked. He narrowed his eyes and slammed his locker door closed.

"No. I think a group of them got away." She smiled encouragingly at his glum expression.

"Well, I'm not busy tonight, so we could go find the rest of them together. It shouldn't take too long now that you know what you're looking for, right?"

"Yeah," Danny smiled gratefully, "thanks Sam." he looked around him quickly, a look of surprise crossing his features. "Where's Tuck?"

"Oh, him," she rolled her eyes and jabbing her thumb over her shoulder. "He's down by the main office with all of the other geeks."

"Huh? Why?" The two started walking down the hallway towards their first class.

"Because of the new girl, what else?"

"New girl?" Danny asked in confusion, suddenly noticing that most of students around them were walking in the same direction, talking excitedly. Sam smiled grimly.

"She moved here about a week ago and this is her first day here at Casper High. I hear she's the same age as us, so she'll probably be in most of our classes." Understanding dawned on his face.

"So Tucker is down there trying to make a good impression before she learns about his reputation as a geek?"

"Yep," Sam replied, still smirking. They turned the corner and stopped at the edge of a crowd hanging around the doors to the front office. It only took them a few seconds to recognize their friend Tucker standing in the front of the group, looking through the double doors.

"She's coming, she's coming!" he called to the group. The doors swung open, revealing one of the school counselors and the new girl. She wore a lime green shirt with a black ghost imprinted on it and black jeans. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, a few strands hanging out on the sides of her face. She eyed the crowd with surprise, glancing at the eager faces of the desperate teen boys.

"Move aside people! You can meet her **later**," the counselor looked pointedly at the group, who parted and let her through. She shook her head, dragging the new girl along with her. "Teenagers!"

With no chance of meeting or impressing the new girl, the pack of students dispersed, heading to their first class. Tucker came up next to his two friends, disappointment clear on his face.

"Aw man! I didn't even get the chance to introduce myself!" he grumbled, watching the counselor pull the girl around the corner.

"Relax Tucker. I'm sure you'll get your chance at lunch," Sam said coolly. "As for us, I think it might be good if we weren't late for health class—especially you Danny."

* * *

"Now everybody settle down," Mr. Lancer called out, watching as his students quieted down to listen. "I would like to introduce our newest student, Raimee Perkings." He motioned at Raimee who gave them a small smile. Second class of the day, and she was already wishing for it to be over.

'_Am I going to have to do this in **every** class?'_ She asked Chaos who was currently hiding inside of her.

'_Better get used to it,_' Chaos answered. Raimee could tell that if she was next to her, Chaos would be smirking.

'_Thanks,' _she thought grumpily, refocusing on her new teacher

"She just moved here from Madison, Wisconsin, so let's show her how great Amity Park can be," Mr. Lancer continued, eyeing his students carefully, "or else." Raimee glanced at him with uncertainty and he smiled encouragingly at her.

"You can take your seat now Ms. Perkings," Mr. Lancer said, pushing her forward towards an empty seat towards the back of the room. Raimee quickly walked down the aisle, glancing at the unfamiliar students around her. A boy with glasses in a yellow shirt grinned at her and she smiled back tentatively.

'_I think that guy is **interested** in you, Raimee!'_ Chaos thought with amusement.

'_Don't say that. I'm sure he's a nice guy and all, but I don't want any social drama like that right now,'_ Raimee thought back, gripping her backpack strap tighter. Chaos started laughing at her friend's discomfiture, but Raimee was distracted by the boy next to the guy with glasses. Her eyes widened with surprise.

It was only visible for a second, but Raimee was sure she had just seen a flicker of **ghost **energy. She wanted to stop and stare at him so she could make sure, but she forced herself to continue and sit down at her desk. She pulled out her notebook and a pen, but didn't open either of them.

'_Chaos,'_ Raimee thought, staring at the guy, who looked about ready to fall asleep.

'_What?'_ Chaos responded, her voice still filled with glee. Raimee ignored it.

'_That boy I'm looking at with the black hair…'_

'_Yeah, what about him?'_

'_I sense ghost energy…I think_.' Raimee hesitated, concentrating hard on the glimmer she had felt.

'_You **think**?'_ Chaos asked in surprise. Raimee was rarely wrong when it came to sensing any sort of ghost energy.

'_Well, it's faint. I can only feel a trace of it_,' Raimee bit her lip, her brow furrowed in confusion. Chaos shifted inside her.

'_Is he possessed?'_

'_No. That would feel like the ghost was overpowering the human_,' Raimee thought confidently. '_I know possessed.'_

'_So…?_' The two sat in silent deliberation, ignoring Mr. Lancer as he began his lecture.

'_Well,'_ Raimee began uncertainly, _'it's just a trace. Maybe he's been…in contact with a ghost or something, and it sorta…rubbed off on him…' _There was something else too. Something familiar…. She growled quietly, still staring at the boy. _'Urg. This is so frustrating. I've felt that energy—whatever it is—before, but from **where**?'_

'_Back in Wisconsin?' _Chaos offered casually. Raimee rolled her eyes, brushing a few strands of dark brown hair out of her face.

'_Duh! The only ghosts I know are back home. I just don't remember who had the same sort of ghost energy.'_

'_Well, it doesn't matter until something happens, right?' _Chaos reassured her friend, though she sounded like she wouldn't mind if that 'something' **did** happen.

'_Yeah, I know,'_ Raimee sighed, pulling her notebook closer and grabbing her pen.

'_We should just keep an eye on the guy,'_ Chaos continued.

'_I guess that's best._' Raimee looked up as Mr. Lancer began writing on the chalkboard behind him_. Now, I should probably pay attention to Lancer or I'll get even farther behind than I already am.'_

'_Yeah…you do that,'_ Chaos replied unenthusiastically. She had promised to stay with Raimee throughout her first day of school, but now she was starting to regret it. She was going to explode if she had to stay inside Raimee much longer! And this was only the second class of the day! _'You know, I could do a bit of…looking around…' _

'_Chaos,' _Raimee began in a warning tone.

'_I won't **do **anything. I'll, I don't know, find your classes and all that important crap for ya.' _Raimee remained silent, copying down what Lancer had just written on the chalkboard. She would have to do better than that.

'_Look, this way I can see what kind of ghost stuff is going on around here. That guy can't be the only person or thing around here with some sort of ghost energy, right? This is **Casper** High! Wouldn't it be better if I was familiar with the territory?' _Raimee sighed heavily in defeat.

'_Oh, alright. But, be careful, okay? We may have escaped Plasmius, but that doesn't mean we can be careless.' _Chaos grinned as she turned invisible and pulled herself out of Raimee.

"It'll be like I'm not even here!" she whispered before disappearing through the ceiling. Raimee rolled her eyes again, scribbling her name in the top corner of her notebook. _It'd better be, Chaos!_


	3. Where Are All the Ghosts?

**Dizgirl: **So, I'm up and ready to roll. I would just like you to know that I've been writing this the WHOLE four weeks. It just took me a while to get what I wanted out. Plus, I couldn't update this when I wanted because I couldn't upload it for some reason at first. But now it's good. Also: THANK YOU REVIEWERS! You make my day. All four of you! So, now onto the next chap! Enjoy and Love!

* * *

**Where Are All the Ghosts?**

Danny was tired. Scratch that, he was **exhausted**. Not only had he been up for the past few nights fighting a variety of ghosts (his dad's friend had visited and, as usual, Jack just **had** to show off the portal), but his teachers were giving out projects and tests like crazy. And now, here was Lancer talking about the essay that was due next week. Danny rested his head in his hands, staring blankly at his desk as he tried to stay awake and not panic.

His thoughts were interrupted as his ghost sense went off, the cold mist escaping from his mouth. _Oh no…_he thought unhappily. He tensed and glanced around, waiting for the crashes and screams that usually accompanied a ghost attack. Sam shot him a questioning look and he mouthed 'ghost sense' back at her and Tucker. The two stiffened.

But, a few moments passed and Mr. Lancer continued to drone on at the quiet classroom. Tucker and Sam exchanged confused expressions, looking back at Danny.

"Are you sure you sensed something?" Sam whispered as quietly as she could.

"Yeah," Danny answered in an undertone, nodding vigorously. "I sensed—"

"Mr. Fenton, Ms. Manson, is there a problem?" Mr. Lancer stood over the two of them, textbook in hand.

"Uh, no Mr. Lancer," Danny responded quickly. Lancer raised an eyebrow and Danny smiled nervously.

"As I was saying, Shakespeare was known for…"

Danny watched Lancer move back towards his desk, then glanced worriedly at his two friends. _Why did I sense a ghost when there wasn't one around?_

* * *

Chaos floated down a random hallway, trying to get her bearings. She glanced around at the rows of lockers and doors on either side of her.

"So…we came this way from first hour, which leads to the front office, right?" she wondered out loud, peeking down another hallway as she passed. She saw the double doors at the end and grinned, glad to be right.

"Kay, so now I should find the other…" her voice trailed away, as she caught sight of a locker further down the hall. It was trashy looking, but that wasn't why she noticed it. What caught her attention was the stale—but powerful—residue of ectoplasm surrounding it. Chaos flew over and looked into the inside of the locker, but found nothing but cobwebs. She pulled her head out and looked at the faded black numbers suspiciously. "Locker 724…? Hmmm, best stay away from it."

Chaos floated down more hallways, peeking her invisible head into various classrooms filled with students along the way. At one point she discovered the cafeteria, which also seemed to be covered in ectoplasmic residue that hadn't been washed away properly—especially within the kitchen. Most of the hallways were in the same state as well, but, the library and girl's bathrooms were clean. Chaos couldn't figure** that** one out.

Somewhere along the way she also found an empty office that reeked of old ghost energy, though Chaos was pretty sure that whatever ghost had resided in it was long gone. She floated to the ground within the dark office, shaking her head. It seemed the whole school held traces of ghost activity…including that one kid.

_What the heck goes on at this school?_ she thought in awe. _With this much ectoplasm and ghost energy floating around, shouldn't there be crowds of ghosts to back it up? Where are** they**?_

Chaos was torn from her thoughts as the bell went off, signaling the end of second hour. She turned invisible and flew quickly through the hallways back towards Raimee. When she reached the classroom, she stopped in the air, watching the students pour out of the doorway. Chaos caught sight of Raimee walking behind the ghost-trace-kid and a girl and boy who were obviously his two friends. She grinned as she saw Raimee glance questioningly up at the ceiling, sensing her even though she was invisible. Chaos dived into her friend's body.

'_Hey Ray! Have fun in Mr. Boring's class?_' Chaos asked cheerfully.

'_He's not that bad really. In fact I think I'll like his class a lot, so be nice. But, enough about that, what did you find out?'_ Raimee answered following the crowd as she looked for her next class.

'_Well, there's a **ton** of ghost energy around here—most of it old. And, I know where the cafeteria, library, and bathrooms are now. I would've looked for your classes but I didn't know your schedule.'_

'_Ghost energy?' _Raimee asked in surprise, ignoring the rest of the information_. 'Where?'_

'_All over the place. It's like a bunch of ghosts went and battled it out in every other hallway I floated down.' _Chaos thought. '_I'm just amazed people still go to school here. With this much ectoplasm lying around, wouldn't you think the place would be considered haunted or something?'_

'_You would think…' _Raimee answered, turning her attention to finding her next class. _'Chaos, did you see where classroom…'_she looked down at the already worn paper in her hand, _'…number 156 is? I can't seem to find it.' _

'_Yeah. You'll have to take the stairs though; it's on the floor below this one,' _Chaos replied. _'Anyways, there is definitely something going on here with ghosts. I mean I was half-joking when I said that since it's Casper High there should be ghost stuff and all, but apparently I was right.' _

'_Well, as you also said, we should probably just wait until something happens.'_

'_Hmmm…I guess.' _

* * *

Danny froze as the chilled mist escaped from his mouth again. He craned his neck to see over the crowd for the ghost he had sensed, forehead wrinkled in frustration.

"Okay, that's the second time my ghost sense went off today and there's still no ghost!" he exclaimed to his two best friends. "I mean, maybe I could mistake it once, but **twice**?"

"Well, you **are** pretty tired," Sam responded calmly.

"Not** that** tired," Danny countered.

"How many times did I wake you up in class today?" Sam asked as she glanced questioningly at Tucker.

"Three times in Tetslaff's and two times in Lancer's. That's a lot—even for you dude," Tucker answered, tapping away at his newest PDA. Danny scowled.

"Being tired has never affected my ghost sense before," he argued. "I could be asleep and my ghost sense would still go off.** And**, there would be a ghost there too," he added as he saw Sam open her mouth. She rolled her eyes.

"Well, if there **is** a ghost—"

"—There is!"

"Then what's the big deal? It's not hurting anyone or doing anything. It could be friendly," Sam continued, ignoring Danny's huff of annoyance.

"Yeah, and how many times has **that** happened?" He asked sarcastically, stopping outside their next class. Sam stopped as well, crossing her arms.

"Hmmm…let's see," she began innocently. Well for one there's Dora, oh and Clockwork, and don't forget the Dairy King ghost from Vlad's house, and—"

"—Okay okay! I get it, there **are** friendly ghosts," Danny said scowling again. Sam smirked and walked into the classroom. He turned to Tucker, frowning.

"I still think there's something wrong," he grumbled. His best friend shrugged.

"So there's a ghost hanging around. If it's evil you'll find it, kick its butt, suck it into the thermos, and throw it into the Ghost Zone," he assured Danny. "If not, then Sam is right and you'll have to deal with her gloating for the rest of your life." Danny grimaced.

"Thanks for the encouragement Tuck."

* * *

'_I hate this, I hate this, I hate this, I hate—'_

'—_Raimee, **stop it**! You're driving me crazy!'_

'_I'm sorry! But I** really **hate this part of being the new kid!'_ Raimee complained to her ghost friend as she looked out over the crowded cafeteria_. 'I never know where to sit, and I don't know anyone I could sit with, and I always feel so nervous!'_

'_What are you nervous about? What could they possibly do to you?' _Chaos asked doubtfully.

"Hey new kid, move it!" came an arrogant voice from behind Raimee. She found herself being shoved aside into one of the metal tables as two jocks wearing lettermen jackets pushed past her. The one who spoke, a tall boy with slicked-back blonde hair, looked back and laughed as he continued to the lunch line on the other side of the cafeteria.

'_That. That is what they can do to me,'_ Raimee thought, rubbing her side where she had hit the table's edge.

'_I am **so** going to get that jerk!' _Chaos growled. _'Who does he think he is, huh?! I'll show him what the true meaning of being a bully is! **Chaos**: that's what he needs!'_

'_Chaos, calm down.'_

'_Calm down? I'll calm down when I can give him what he deserves!' _Chaos continued to rage in the back of Raimee's mind, but she tuned it out.

"Hey," another voice called out behind her. Raimee winced, but turned around anyways. It was a girl dressed up in black and purple, holding a tray of food. Next to her were none other than the ghost-trace-boy and his bespectacled friend from English class (and apparently a lot of her other classes as well).

"Ignore Dash, he's an idiot with about as much brains as a fly—and that's on a good day," the goth girl continued. Raimee smiled appreciatively.

"Thanks," she replied. "Don't worry, I'm used to it. I wasn't very popular at any of my other schools either." _'Mainly because of all the ghost stuff,'_ she added for Chaos.

'_Tch, their loss,'_ replied Chaos. _'If they can't handle that, then they don't deserve to even talk to ya. Oh, but they do deserve a sound beating like Mr. Jerk-Jock over there.'_ Raimee bit her lip to hide a smile.

"So, um…well thanks…. I'll be going now," Raimee stammered, nodding at the trio as she turned away.

"Wait!" She looked back in surprise as the black-haired boy took a step forward. He glanced back at the other two, as if asking for approval, and then continued, "Come sit with us. We got plenty of room at our table."

"Yeah," said the girl with a shrug. "Those of us at the bottom of the social chain should stick together."

"Thank you," Raimee grinned for the first time that day. "That would be great." The four of them headed to an empty table in the middle of the cafeteria. The goth girl and the other boy sat on one side, leaving the ghost-trace-kid and Raimee to sit on the other. They set their trays down and she pulled out a paper bag from her black backpack.

"Oh, we never introduced ourselves," began the girl as she stuck her fork into the school salad on her tray. "I'm Sam Manson." Raimee nodded in reply. Then the boy next her spoke up.

"Danny Fenton," he said with a smile. _'Danny Fenton…that's his name…' _Chaos grunted to show she had heard, still steaming about 'Mr. Jerk-Jock'.

"Oh, and this is—"

"—Tucker Foley at your service, as in you can call me for my services anytime," the other boy interrupted. Danny and Sam shared exasperated looks as Raimee tried to figure out if he was serious or not.

"Oh, um okay," she said, not sure how to respond to such a straight-forward comment.

'_Ha ha! I was right! He is definitely into you. Are you guys going to go on a date?'_ Chaos teased, all anger gone with the prospect of humiliating her best friend.

'_Chaos! No, I just met the guy!' _Raimee quickly thought in embarrassment

'_First, I'll have to make sure he is suitable material for you...' _Raimee sighed inwardly.

"Anyways," Sam began after pulling Tucker's red beret over his face ("Hey!"), "where are you from? We didn't catch Lancer when he told us." Raimee looked up from her turkey sandwich, grateful for the distraction from Chaos's continuing comments on Tucker and his 'worthiness' to date her.

"Wisconsin," she replied. "I never really—" she stopped abruptly as Danny started choking on a spoonful of mashed potatoes. Sam glanced at him, and then continued as evenly as she could.

"Oh really?" she asked. "What part?"

"Madison. Why? Is there something wrong with that?" Raimee looked between the three as they exchanged knowing looks.

"No, it's just…we know someone from around there," replied Danny 'casually', stabbing his meatloaf rather forcefully.

"Oh…wonder if I know them. I was only there for three years this time around, so probably not. Unless they're our age…"

"Well everyone knows—ow!" Tucker exclaimed as he felt Sam step on his foot with her compact boots.

"Everyone knows…?" Raimee repeated in confusion.

"Danny!" A voice rang out from behind them. The four turned to see a tall, red-headed girl walking towards.

"Who's that?" Raimee asked.

"Jazz: my sister," Danny answered, sharing a look of relief with Sam.

"I wanted to talk to you about those ghooo…" Jazz paused as she caught sight of Raimee, "gooo…**goals** that you have for college. It's never too early to start you know! You gotta start planning **now**." She smiled nervously.

"Later. I don't want to talk about that right now," Danny replied smoothly. "Stop badgering me!" Jazz rolled her eyes with fake frustration and then turned to Raimee.

"So you're the new girl right? Raimee Perkings?"

"Uh, yeah," Raimee answered. "You know my name?"

"Of course! We don't get many new kids around here. I make it my duty to make sure that the new kids feel welcome at Casper High," Jazz said cheerfully. "I also hear you are in a higher math class—a year ahead right?"

"Oh, yes I am," Raimee grinned sheepishly. "Math has always kinda been my thing."

'_Which is really weird,'_ Chaos interjected quietly. Raimee ignored her.

"Well, if you need any help you just ask me, okay?" Jazz said, briefly resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Right."

Jazz nodded at them and then looked down at her brother. "I'll talk to you later about those 'goals'." She winked and walked away.

'_She's way too perky,'_ Chaos commented.

'_I don't know about that. I think I'll like her,'_ Raimee thought back.

'_Well sure. You two nerds will hit it off great, but I don't think I could handle her for too long alone.'_

'_You won't have to worry about that. It's not like you're going to meet her any time soon.'_

'_True.'_

"Wow, a whole year ahead?" Tucker questioned. Raimee blushed.

"Uh, yeah. I **was** two years ahead, but the move here caused problems and I lost the other credit somehow," she explained, shrugging casually. "It doesn't really matter. Review is fine with me."

The bell rang and the chatting students around them stood up to leave for the next class. Raimee jumped up and grabbed her backpack, pulling her schedule out from her pocket.

"Actually, that's where I'm headed now," she said, examining the paper. "Where is Mr. Falluca's class?"

"Right hallway, up the stairs, third door on your left," Sam and Danny answered in unison.

"Thanks. Oh, and thank you for letting me sit with you," Raimee smiled briefly and took off towards the double doors. The two watched her go, then glanced back as Tucker rushed passed them.

"Wait! I didn't get to ask you out yet!" Tucker called, but she had already disappeared through the doors. "Aw man!"

* * *

**Dizgirl:**Okay, so I attempted humor. Please tell me how it went. Thanks for reading the chap!


	4. Keep Those Ghosts Away

**Dizgirl:** First, I want to thank my reviewers from the bottom of my heart. THANKYOU!! Next, since my friend **MormonMaiden** threw in her shameless plug I must as well! We struck a deal with our other friend **Allidragon** that we would all update a certain story by the fifteenth (Mine was obviously this story! Go check out **MM**'s account for her story, and go to _fictionpress_ and check out **Cak Jmaack**'s profile for **Allidragon**'s update!)

Thirdly, my disclaimer: the song in this chap is called "It's Your Day" by _Blessid Union of Souls_ and therefore I do not claim it! Neither do I claim delicious Captain Crunch as mine. Finally, phantomology is a real thing—I'm serious—go look it up! Tis the study of spectral/supernatural beings. So, have fun! Oh, and enjoy and love!

* * *

**Keep Those Ghosts Away**

"It's your day! Colored picture from a kid's eye across the way," Raimee sang to herself as she pulled a maroon shirt from her closet and put it on. She hummed the next part of the song as she held a hair tie in her mouth. She pulled her hair back and used the tie to pull it up in a low ponytail. Then, as the chorus came on her stereo, she sang loudly along with it.

"Gotta learn to keep those ghosts away! Buy them all a one-way ticket on a flight to Neverland," she grinned at herself in the mirror next to her door. _How I love this song_, she thought. Raimee clicked off her boom box, and then grabbed her new book from her desk, preparing to read it while eating breakfast.

"Introduction to Phantomology by Jennifer Aprishon," she announced to herself happily. "This should be an interesting read." Raimee walked down the hallway, humming quietly. She had found the book on Friday at a small bookstore in town called the Skulk and Lurk. True the store had creeped her out with its depressing atmosphere and gloomy customers, but it was a great source of books on the supernatural.

Raimee grabbed a bowl, spoon, and the Captain Crunch box and sat down at the table, pouring herself a bowl while reading the back of the book.

_Introduction to Phantomology takes you into the strange world of the unnatural and paranormal through several in-depth chapters covering a variety of subjects ranging from poltergeists to ghosts to spirits and more! Join Jennifer Aprishon as she explores the world of the supernatural!_

Raimee grinned, eager to start reading the book so she could share it with Chaos. She opened the first page and was about to start when her dad walked in, straightening his tie. _Crap!_ she thought. _I forgot he was still here!_

"Ray, I'm going to be late tonight so you'll have to fix dinner for yourself," her dad began. He looked up as Raimee quickly slammed her book face-down on the table. "I have a lot of…what are you reading?" She winced, but tried to hide it behind a smile.

"Nothing really. Just something I found at the local bookstore," she replied as calmly as she could, but he didn't fall for it. Mr. Perkings walked over and picked the book up. His expression clouded as he read the title. _Here it comes…_

"Raimee May Perkings!" She winced. _How I hate it when people use my full name like that!_ she thought fervently. "How many times do I have to tell you **not** to get involved in this kind of stuff? The supernatural is dangerous! You'll get hurt!"

"Dad! All I'm doing is reading a book about it," she interjected exasperatedly. "I just want to learn about it. It's not like I'm going to go out and hunt the stuff or whatever."

"But one day you might. You are your mother's daughter and you have her gift. I'm afraid you might try to…talk to a ghost you meet one day or something equally as dangerous," her dad countered. _Too late for that_, she thought to herself dryly. She had conveniently 'forgotten' to tell her father about Chaos.

"There's nothing **wrong** with ghosts, okay? Sure, some of them are nasty, but most of them are good," Raimee argued.

"'Most of them'? You sound like you've been talking to them!" he accused her, staring at her suspiciously. She hesitated, unsure of how to respond with out telling a direct lie.

"**Have** you talked to any ghosts lately?" The question hung heavy in the air, and then Raimee thought of a response.

"I haven't met a single ghost since we moved," she replied carefully. Her dad narrowed his hazel eyes.

"What about before we moved?" She smiled nervously.

"Well…does it really matter? We moved down here and it's not like I'm going to see any ghosts I would of met back home—if I had met any," she added quickly.

"You better not," he finally answered. "And I don't want you to talk to any ghosts you might sense here as well."

"But ghosts aren't that bad!"

"They are pure evil!" he replied hotly. Raimee glared at him, hoping Chaos wasn't nearby and listening to this.

"They are not pure evil! They're lost, or confused, or angry because of something that happened in their lives—that's what Mom said. She would agree with me if she was here!"

"Don't bring your mother into this," he growled quietly. She stood up angrily. They had argued over this for years. It usually ended with her pretending to agree with him, but lately, she had grown more defiant (probably because of Chaos's influence).

"Why **can't** I bring Mom into this? Why do I have to pretend like nothing ever happened? Or, that I don't sense ghosts wherever I go?!"

"Raimee…" he warned her. She growled in frustration.

"We've been over this a million times! It's not like I can just **not** sense ghosts, dad! There's no 'off' switch; no way to just say 'be gone!' and never hear from them again. They are always calling to me!"

"Then don't answer! Ignore them! If Gina had she would still be here with us!" her dad answered furiously. Raimee looked away as a lump formed in her throat at the thought of her mom. She took several deep breaths and then glared back up at him, crossing her arms.

"It's a gift from Mom. I can't ignore that," she replied quietly. Her dad ran a hand through his unkempt brown hair, sighing deeply.

"And I can't let you put yourself in danger," he picked up the dark purple book and tossed it in the trash can.

"Dad! That was fifteen bucks!" Raimee stared at the trash can in horror.

"What a nice way to spend your money," he growled. "I don't want you to keep reading that stuff or doing anything related to it, alright?" She glowered at him, trying to hold back tears of frustration.

"Maybe you want to forget about Mom and all that she did, but I don't!" Raimee turned around and stormed out of the room. Grabbing her backpack from where it lay in the entryway, she ripped open the front door and slammed it closed behind her. She quickly walked down the stairs and out of the apartment building into the street.

The cool morning air helped her to slowly calm down. She walked back and forth in front of the building, breathing deeply and wiping away the few stray tears that had escaped her eyes.

_Okay, maybe that was a little childish of me at the end, but he makes me so mad!_ Raimee thought to herself, wishing Chaos would come soon. Her ghostly friend normally took off at night, but she always returned right before Raimee left for school. The human girl sighed loudly and continued her pacing. _He's being so stubborn and stupid and—_

"—Ray! What are you doing outside already?" Chaos floated down from the roof of the apartment building, looking concerned.

"My dad was being a jerk and threw away that new book I just got," Raimee answered as she pulled a tissue from her backpack. "We argued about…the usual." Chaos nodded in understanding.

"That new book from the creepy goth store?" Raimee nodded, smiling despite herself. "Alright. Wait here, kay?" Chaos asked before disappearing. Raimee nodded again as she felt the ghost girl float back towards her home. A few minutes passed, and then Chaos was back with the book in hand.

"Here," she said with a wink, handing the heavy book to Raimee. The human girl's eyes widened in surprise.

"Chaos…! Thank you! But my dad will find out, and he'll be so mad!" she sputtered, both happy and agitated at the same time. Then, she looked up sharply. "Oh! You—we need to move away from here; everyone can see us!" Chaos just smirked as she grabbed Raimee's arm and made both of them invisible.

"How 'bout now?" her disembodied voice was full of humor at her friend's anxiety. Raimee smiled and relaxed. Holding the book with her left arm, she wrapped the other around Chaos's neck.

"Thanks…" she whispered. Chaos shrugged as she slowly pulled away, though she kept one hand on Raimee's arm.

"So, now what?" the ghost girl asked casually, watching a man walking down the sidewalk across the street from the two invisible girls. Raimee blew her nose and sniffed quietly before tossing the tissue into a nearby garbage can.

"Well, it's kind of early to go to school, but I don't want to stay here," she said, scowling. Chaos grinned, though her friend couldn't see it.

"Then let's fly."

* * *

**Dizgirl:** So, there was no Danny related action, but this needed to come out! Believe me; it will tie into the plot later! Yesh…plot…something I should have **all** figured out and yet it still eludes me… Don't worry; I got some good ideas up my sleeves!


	5. That Ghost Dude

**Dizgirl: **FINALLY! So, I could ramble on and on about the variety of completely plausible excuses for why this took so long to update, but I know that isn't why you're reading this. You just want the freaking chapter! SO, suffice it to say a mixture of school and my other responsibilities took over and controlled my life for the past few months (plus a nasty case of being-in-character-phobia that refused to let me write without consulting several DP episodes).

With that said, let us move on to the main event! Thank you for reading and reviewing. Enjoy and Love!

* * *

**That Ghost Dude**

"So now I'm grounded **again** because I got home late last night," Danny sighed as he joined his two best friends on their way to school. Sam winced.

"I'm sorry, Danny. If it hadn't been for me—"

"—No, it's not your fault that ghost decided you were dinner," he interrupted with a shake of his head, smiling slightly. "I'm just glad that you made it out of there safe. I was sure the ghost would drop you and I wouldn't be able to catch you in time!"

"You would've caught me," Sam reassured with a light blush. Noting Tucker's amused expression, she hastily added, "I mean you did when I fell off the Circus Gothica train."

Tucker just rolled his eyes as Danny nodded absentmindedly, oblivious to his friends' silent conversation. As the trio made it to the edge of the school grounds, he slowed down and turned to Tucker and Sam.

"Well, I guess this means that we can't do tha—" Danny abruptly stopped as the familiar mist drifted from his mouth. "Uh…guys?" Sam looked around quickly as Tucker pointed to the bushes on the side of the school building.

"Over there, dude." Danny disappeared into the vegetation, whispering his familiar battle cry as two rings of light washed over him. He flew up into the air and scanned the horizon for the ghostly problem.

He didn't have to look far. In front of Casper High, students were running for cover as an enormous glowing black skeleton floated above, eyeing the students with a menacing grin.

"Oh great, just what I want to do this early in the morning: fight dead things," Danny moaned, taking off towards the ghost. It raised one hand, green ectoplasm slowly building up, as it prepared to blast one of the school buses in the parking lot. Danny flew up behind the ghost and sent his own ecto-blast into its back.

"I know school transportation sucks, but you should try complaining to office before blasting it to bits!" he quipped with a smirk as the ghost pushed itself out of the crater it had just created. It snarled and flew into the air, smacking Danny into the second story wall of the school. He groaned and shook his head, trying to clear away the dizziness.

"What? No funny bone?" He called to the skeleton ghost, peeling himself off of the brick wall with a wince. It growled as both of its hands burned bright green.

"Guess not." Danny dodged several blasts, flying through the air and throwing some of his own back at the skeleton ghost. He went intangible as the ghost swung one of its blackened bony arms at him, and then flew up and kicked the ghost on the side of the head. It howled as it slammed into the ground again.

"Ha! You can't beat me," Danny taunted, smirk back in place. "You haven't got the guts!" He reached for the Fenton thermos in his backpack when the glowing ghost flew up in front of him.

"Danny! Watch out!" Sam and Tucker yelled. Danny looked up just as the ghost brought both of its fists down, pounding him into the ground.

"That is going to leave a mark."

* * *

"Okay, I know that dying is a horrible thing and all but sometimes I would love to be a ghost so I could fly," Raimee commented as Chaos guided the two girls to the ground about a block away from Casper High.

"Hey, don't forget the fact that we can go through walls and disappear too!" her ghostly friend added, turning the two visible. Raimee grinned, her argument with her father slowly fading into the back of her mind.

"And what about your Chaos Sparks or ecto-blasts?" she asked.

"Of course!" Chaos smirked. "I thought they were given!" The two laughed.

"Well, I guess I should be going to school," Raimee began reluctantly. "Are you coming along?" Chaos grimaced, looking off in the direction of the high school.

"And that's another perk to being dead," she said as she disappeared into Raimee. '_You don't have to go to that prison you call school.'_

'_I'm sorry, but an education is important nowadays_,' the human girl thought as she started down the street.

'_Tch, whatever. They just tell you that so they can lock you up six or seven hours a day and keep you from causing trouble!'_

'_Probably, but it also helps you to get into college and then a job!'_

'_Yeah, I know,'_ Chaos sighed as the two walked under a line of trees that kept the high school from view. Raimee stopped abruptly, raising a hand to her mouth.

'_Chaos, I feel a ghost! A **big** ghost!'_ Raimee closed her eyes in concentration. '_No, two ghosts!_'

'_Where?'_ The ghost girl asked, instantly interested. Raimee sped up, craning her neck to see past the trees.

'_Right...here!'_She jumped out into plain view of the school, looking up to see a giant skeleton slam another ghost into the ground.

"Oh my goodness!" Raimee exclaimed as she felt the earth reverberate around her. She stumbled back from the vibration and to get a clearer view of the enormous ghost. "That thing is **huge**!"

'_That thing could cause a lot of damage_,' Chaos remarked. '_But what about the other ghost dude? What's he doing?'_ Raimee looked to the ground where he was slowly rising to his feet.

'_He's getting up,' _she answered_. 'Wow, he looks like he's my age!'_

'_What's with the black jumpsuit?' _Chaos inquired with a smirk_. 'He's gotta be from the eighties or some weird time like that.'_

'_No making judgments,_' Raimee reprimanded while edging closer to the battle. '_It's not like a ghost **chooses** what it's going to wear in the afterlife.' _

'_What about choosing what they wear in their **actual** life?'_ Chaos countered. Her friend remained silent, watching the ghost boy jump into the sky instead. The two fighting ghosts met each other in mid air, colliding with an echoing thud. The few students who were still outside the school screamed in response, and ran for cover from several green ecto-blasts that flew from the two in the sky. Raimee stepped behind a nearby tree and peered around the side to continue watching the battle. Though the white-haired ghost was much smaller than the massive skeleton, he seemed to be pulling most of the punches.

'_Man, he's **ripping** on the guy! This ghost dude knows how to fight,'_ Chaos thought while watching the boy twist around the other ghost and use both hands to blast it into the side of the school.

'_Yeah, but if he continues on like this, I won't have a school to go to!'_ Raimee added.

'_What a shame,'_ Chaos thought dryly. The human girl rolled her eyes, though she knew her friend couldn't see it. Raimee turned back to the fight just in time to see the 'ghost dude' pull out something from his backpack and used it to blast the skeleton with a blinding blue light. When the light faded away, the large ghost was gone. The ghost boy looked around at the scattered students and then disappeared behind the school.

'_Well then,'_ Raimee thought as she slowly walked out from behind the tree. '_You don't see **that** every day.'_

'_Unless you live here,'_ Chaos commented as the two watched the students file calmly into the brick building with only a few of them glancing around cautiously.

'_I guess we know why there's so much ectoplasm around the school,'_Raimee thought as she followed a group of chattering seniors towards the double doors. '_If there are fights here like that so often that people just take it for granted, then ectoplasm is the least of our worries. The building itself might fall down on us one day!'_

'_Yay! No school!'_ Chaos cheered inside her. Raimee resisted the urge to roll her eyes again.

'_You know you can just—' _she broke off from their silent conversation as the bell rang. '—_Crap!! The warning bell! I'm gonna be late on my second day of school!'_

"Oh man! If I'm late again, Tetslaff will kill me!" a voice groaned behind Raimee. She turned around to see Danny running up the steps, brushing his untidy black hair away from his sweaty forehead. She smiled understandingly before taking off behind him.

'_At least I'm not the only one!' _She thought.

''_Cause that makes it okay,'_ Chaos interjected quietly. Raimee ignored her as she followed Danny around the corner. She glanced up and skidded to a stop.

"Wow, he's quick!" she gasped as she looked around at the empty hallway.

'_You better be too if you want to make it on time,' _Chaos reminded her

'_I know!' _Raimee moaned as she turned to her right, raced up a flight of steps, and down another hallway. '_Now I kinda wish that ghost dude **had **destroyed the school!'_

* * *

"Here you are! I'm sorry it took me so long to find it, but our computers have been acting funny lately," the woman told Raimee as she handed her a sheet of paper. "This has your locker combination for your regular locker and the one you have in the gym for P.E. Is that all you need?" The dark-haired girl looked down at the paper and then up at the smiling woman.

"Yeah, I think so," she answered distractedly. '_Numbers 329 and 14. Know where they are?' _she asked Chaos.

'_Uh…no,'_ her friend responded nonchalantly. '_Am I supposed to?' _Raimee grimaced as she turned from the front desk and back into the main hallway.

'_Well that's just great,' _she thought sarcastically_. 'Finding my new lockers in an unfamiliar school is going to be **so** much fun.'_

'_Woah, what turned on the heat?' _Chaos asked as Raimee moved to the left towards the gym.

'_Oh I don't know_,' Raimee began in a controlled tone, though it quickly became 'louder' and faster as she continued. '_How about the fact that I was almost **late **to my first class, didn't understand a** thing **in my last class, and had to wait a whole freaking half hour to **finally** get my locker combinations!? How's **that** for 'turning on the heat'?!'_ Chaos whistled.

'_I say you're doing quite nicely_,' she joked as Raimee stomped through the gym doors.

'_Thanks_,' the human girl replied, gritting her teeth.

'_Look, it's over! Now you just have to find your lockers and you can go home!'_ Raimee sighed.

'_I hope it's as easy as that, but with me it's never that simple,'_she thought as she walked into the dimly lit girls' locker room.

'_Oh come on! How hard can it be to find two lockers?'_

'_Chaos! You jinxed it! Now it's going to take **for-ever**!' _Raimee griped. Chaos flinched inside of her.

'_Oops, sorry.' _The two dropped the conversation to look for her first locker. Fortunately, Raimee's prediction did not hold true and they found it within a matter of minutes.

'_See? That wasn't so bad. Now just one more and we can say goodbye to this nasty place!_' Chaos thought enthusiastically. A small smile slipped onto Raimee's face as she left the musty smelling locker room.

'_Alright, but if it takes me more than fifteen minutes I'm blaming you,_' she replied, moving aside for a group of uniformed cheerleaders who were chattering away as they entered the gym. Chaos hissed as one glared in Raimee's direction.

'_Hyper, peppy, lying, evil cheerleaders!'_ she snarled. Raimee rubbed her temples, though she couldn't help but smirk at the sudden vicious tone in her friend's 'voice'.

'_Leave them alone,'_ she warned her friend. '_And please don't talk so loud; you're giving me a headache.' _

_'Oh come **on**! They're just like the ones in Wisconsin and you know it!'_ the ghost girl growled. Raimee sighed as she felt another one of Chaos's rants coming on. '_**You** said let's give them a chance, but **I** knew they were bad news, sitting there with…' _

Raimee blocked her friend out with practiced ease and focused on her surroundings. The nearest locker had a faded 117 painted on it while the next one read 118.

'_So if I go this way that should lead to 329, right?' _Chaos didn't respond, still wrapped up in her own world. Raimee looked down at her paper resignedly and started down the deserted hallway. '_Worth a try_.'

Twenty five minutes later Raimee was still wandering the halls of Casper High, wondering what kind of crazy people had designed the locker system. She had followed the row of lockers all the way up to 250 when it suddenly ended, with no clues about where it continued. After searching several corridors, she had finally decided it had to be on an upper floor and had trudged up the nearest stairwell. Meanwhile, Chaos had finally calmed down enough to notice her friend's increasing agitation and had started throwing out random pieces of advice whenever she could.

'_Okay, I'll admit I've always been a skeptic when it comes to superstitions, but maybe you're on to something with that whole jinx thing,' _Chaos thought as Raimee turned down a new hallway.

'_For once I really hate being right_,' she replied tiredly. Chaos smiled inside her sympathetically.

'_You know, the school is pretty much empty now. I could come out and help_,' she offered. Raimee shook her head.

'_I don't know. I still feel we need to keep a low profile,' _she thought worriedly.

'_Come on! I'm so tired of staying inside you all the time!' _Chaos whined.

'_What are you talking about? You left for half the day!' _her friend snapped back_. 'Something about meeting up with 'that ghost dude'?'_

'_But I stayed for the last two classes! Plus, I never found him,' _she muttered the last part, clearly disappointed.

'_So? I was here—' _Raimee abruptly stopped and whipped her head around as she felt something fly down the hallway to her right. It was invisible—whatever it was—but she could feel it move past her at full speed. _'—Ghost!'_

'_A ghost?_' Chaos asked in excitement. _'Where?!'_

'_Just passed us down that hallway,' _Raimee thought, slightly surprised by its sudden appearance.

'_Oooh…I'm **so** going after it!'_ Chaos crowed.

'_No you're not!'_ Raimee retorted. _'We've barely escaped ghost trouble, like, two weeks ago and you want to go after another ghost!? And what about that ghost dude flying around fighting other ghosts? What happens if he meets up with you?'_

'_I don't know. Beat him up?'_ Chaos answered in a half-joking, half-serious manner. _'It's what I've been trying to do all day!'_ She moved inside Raimee impatiently. The human girl sighed in exasperation, sensing one of her friend's stubborn spells coming on.

'_You're never going to leave me alone till I let you go are you?'_ she asked, looking at the fresh wall of lockers in front of her. _'And I'm never going to find this stupid locker!'_ she added in frustration.

'_No and no,'_ Chaos thought smugly_. 'Look. What happened to the let's-go-find-the-ghost-Ray I knew back in Wisconsin? You used to be the one convincing **me** to go after ghosts!'_

'_Yeah and then Plasmius happened.'_

'_Yeah, Plasmius: one ghost out of a million! I thought we had gone through this already!' _Chaos countered. Raimee sighed again, turning down another unfamiliar hallway.

'_Look. I was naïve and didn't know what I was doing—we both didn't—and I just think we should be more careful now that we know what some ghosts are capable of,'_ she thought evenly.

'_Yeah, **some** ghosts. Like a ghost flying around invisible at a high school is going to be this maniacal ghost bent on world destruction or whatever. It's just some minor ghost causing a little mayhem…or chaos. Mmmm, now I can understand wanting to do **that! **Besides, didn't you tell your father off for being too negative about ghosts this morning? Well, now's your chance to prove him wrong!'_

'_Fine, whatever. Have fun getting yourself into trouble. I'm going to try to find my locker that I couldn't find because **someone** didn't remember where it was!'_ Raimee responded with a growl.

'_Hey! I found some pretty interesting stuff that distracted me, kay? How was I supposed to remember where number 329 is? I didn't even know it when I went exploring the school!' _

'_Yeah…just get out of here and go find your victim,_' Raimee thought. Chaos pulled herself out of the girl, turning invisible.

"Oh, and Chaos? Be careful, alright?" Raimee muttered under her breath, eyeing the air next to her where she knew Chaos floated. She heard her ghost friend laugh quietly.

"I'll be back before you know it, Ray. Have a little faith!" Chaos turned to the right, but suddenly stopped. "Oh, hey! Speaking of yesterday, don't go near locker 724."

"Why?" Raimee asked in surprise.

"Trust me; it has bad news written **all** over it."

* * *

Chaos floated down another empty hallway, invisible, intangible, and very irritated. _Where's the stupid ghost? I should've found it by now! _she thought impatiently, peeking her head through the door of the nearest classroom. _How many places can one ghost hide?_

A door up ahead opened abruptly and a group of students poured out, followed by a rather surly looking teacher she didn't recognize from any of Raimee's classes.

"That's it for detention today," the teacher began, eyeing the backs of the students. "And I better not see any of you in here tomorrow. Got it? This isn't a place to fool around; it's punishment!" Chaos smirked as the students continued walking down the hall, obviously ignoring him. She quickly flew over the group and down another hallway to their right.

A few moments later it seemed she had finally found the ghost. She floated in front of a door that read 'Storage Room' on it in plain black letters. Inside, there were several scuffling noises and the sound of someone chuckling quietly. That and the fact that the air coming out from the cracks in the door was at least five degrees cooler than the hallway pretty much proved it was her ghost.

_What ghost decides to haunt a janitorial closet or whatever this is?_ Chaos wondered to herself. She phased through the door and let herself turn visible, looking around for the ghost. It only took her a second to spot the short overall-clad ghost floating a few inches off the floor in front of a stack of cardboard boxes.

"**Aha**! At last I have found **you**!" The blue ghost exclaimed loudly as he hovered over several boxes full of window and bathroom cleaners.

"And once I, **the Box Ghost**, release you from the burdens of…uh…" He hesitated as he peered down at the black writing scrawled on the side of the box. "…Oh yeah, **janitorial cleaning supplies of Casper High**, I can finally take you for my own **devices**!" Chaos shook her head slowly.

"Oh this is sad…" she said with a sigh. The ghost spun around in surprise.

"Ah! Who **dares** disturb me and my—"

"—**I'm** disturbing you. Dude, what is it with ghosts and long-winded speeches? And how 'bout you? Boxes? Out of all the things in the world, you pick **boxes**? That is just plain sad. And here I thought I might get some amusement out of this…" Chaos rolled her eyes dramatically, floating closer to the Box Ghost.

"Who are **you**?" The ghost inquired with a look of surprise. Chaos crossed her arms and quirked an eyebrow.

"Chaos is the name and…well, Chaos is the game too I suppose…" she answered, a grin slowly spreading across her features. _Okay, I might have a little fun with this…_

"I doubt you've heard about me, but that doesn't matter 'cause you won't forget me now!" She grabbed him by the front of his overalls and pulled him close. Her hand was glowing a bright ruby red and she drew it back, preparing to blast him, when another voice interrupted her.

"Maybe I'm slow, but the point of remembering someone kinda doesn't work if you get blasted into oblivion first," it said arrogantly. Chaos whirled around, dragging the now nervous looking Box Ghost with her. The ghost boy she had seen earlier looked down at the two of them from close to the ceiling, a cocky smile securely in place. She looked at him cautiously before giving him a tight smile.

"Well I said he would never forget me. I'm just giving that threat some insurance," she replied, a hint of playfulness in her voice. He uncrossed his arms and floated down so he was level with her.

"Look, I just want to go home. I've been here long enough as it is. Just let me have him so I can send him back to the Ghost Zone," he said, holding out a hand.

No way! This is my catch! Get your own!" Chaos spat out, glaring at him.

"I am no one's catch!" The Box Ghost announced dramatically. "For I am the Bo—"

"Oh, shut up!" she interrupted him, sending him a glare as well.

"No one can tell **me** to shut up!" The ghost continued, waving his arms over his head. The 'ghost dude' smirked as she let out a growl of aggravation.

Looking slightly disgruntled (and very annoyed) Chaos tossed the pudgy ghost at the boy and said, "Fine. He's all yours. Enjoy." She turned invisible and flew through the side wall of the storage room.

"Wait!" she heard the ghost boy call out. There was also a muffled "beware!" which probably came from the Box Ghost. Chaos smirked as she sped through the empty hallways, searching for the familiar form of her human friend. _Catch me if you can, ghost dude!_

* * *

Jazz stepped out of the teacher's lounge having just finished discussing her developing college thesis with her English teacher.

"Thank you Mrs. Graden," she called back before the door closed behind her. "That was really productive. Hopefully I can have it finished by the end of winter break!"

Practically glowing with anticipation, Jazz almost missed the red and black blur that sped past her down the hallway. She gasped as the blur came to a halt at the end of the hall.

_A ghost!_? she though in alarm. The floating girl had long, wild black hair that framed her pale face and glowing red eyes. She wore black baggy pants and a long-sleeve gray shirt with a blood red blouse over it. If she hadn't been floating, and obviously dead, Jazz would probably pass her off as any other teenager in the school.

Quickly the ghost looked around the corner of the hallway before disappearing down it in a flash. Jazz stood there in shock, blinking several times as she checked to make sure she was seeing properly.

"I have to tell Danny!"


	6. The Ghost of a Problem

**Dizgirl: **I can give you four good reasons to explain my absence. Fortunately for you, I will do that at the end so you can get to the story. _Be glad!_ I was originally going to make this chapter much longer with at least three more major scenes in it and then I decided you had waited long enough. Plus, it works out better this way plotwise! Enjoy and love!

* * *

**The Ghost of a Problem**

Raimee stopped at the end of the hallway she was currently searching and leaned up against the closest wall. _'Okay, it's official. Locker 329 does not exist!'_ she thought hopelessly, crumpling the piece of paper in her hands into a ball and throwing in the nearby trash can.

'_I don't know where I am, my locker is nonexistent, my best friend is off chasing a possibly murderous ghost around the school, and I have __**so**__ much freakin' homework to do when I get home, which by the way is __**not **__where I want to be right now if my dad is back from work!'_ Closing her eyes, Raimee let her head fall back against the locker behind her in defeat. _'What am I going to do now?'_

"Hey!" She opened her eyes to see a familiar boy with a red beret—Tucker she reminded herself—walking up to her with a huge smile on his face. "Raimee, right?"

"Yeah, that's me," she said, managing to give him a polite smile despite her discouraging thoughts. "And you're Tucker, friends with…Danny and Sam at lunch yesterday." He nodded enthusiastically.

"What are you still doing here? School's been out for almost an hour!" he asked, seeming oblivious to her less than happy mood. Raimee massaged her forehead where her headache was getting worse.

"I'm trying to find the locker they assigned to me but I can't find it! I mean I know my sense of direction is screwed up but this is ridiculous!" Instead of looking alarmed or concerned at her little rant, Tucker grinned like it was his birthday and he had just gotten the ultimate present.

"Well then I'll help you find it! What number is it?" Slightly taken aback, Raimee answered hesitantly.

"Uh…329." Tucker whipped out a shiny PDA and started pushing different buttons excitedly. A few seconds of awkward silence later, the machine chimed and he sent her a triumphant look.

"Your locker should be on the bottom floor near the library," he responded happily. Raimee gaped at him.

"**You** just figured out—you have a map on your—why the **heck** couldn't I find it?!" she spluttered. Tucker took a cautious step back, his smile finally slipping off his face.

"Um, well it's right here on the map…" he answered tentatively. "I don't know why you couldn't find it but I could show you where it is right now." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly.

"No, that's okay. You don't have to," she said, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I'm just stressed. Thanks for finding it." He shrugged.

"No problem. Seriously, I'll show it to you right now," he turned towards the stairs. Raimee smiled slightly and followed him down the steps.

"I don't want to make you stay here with me," she persisted, embarrassed by her outburst. "I'm sure you have something you need to do. I mean, why are you here anyways?" He gestured to their left as they made it to the bottom floor.

"I, I just had to…get some homework I left in my locker," he replied hurriedly, sending her a slightly anxious look. She cocked her head to the side as he picked up the pace, apparently uncomfortable. Was he lying? Raimee decided not to push it and instead changed the subject.

"Okay, well I have a question for you then," she continued, stopping with him by the doors to the library. She glanced up to find a locker with the bold numbers 329 printed clearly on the door right in front of her. Hiding a sudden wave of irritation she continued, "What's so special about locker 724?"

"Oh," surprise swept over Tucker's face before he smiled again, excitement back in full force. "Where did you hear about **that**?" It was Raimee's turn to lie.

"Um…I just overheard someone talking about it and I wondered why they said to avoid it."

"Well, that's because it's haunted!" Tucker proclaimed dramatically. Raimee blinked stupidly, unsure of how to respond to that. He didn't seem the type to get caught up in ghost stories, but then again this was Casper High.

"Haunted?"

"Yeah! There was this kid named Sidney Poindexter who used to attend Casper High in the fifties. He was the most bullied student **ever**, getting swirlies and picked on everyday. In fact, he was shoved into his locker so many times that some people say his spirit still remains trapped within it!" He waved his arms above his head to add emphasis, completely caught up in his storytelling.

"Wow," she said, hiding her interest behind skepticism. "Do you think that's true?"

"Completely," he answered confidently. Then he looked down at his PDA and balked. "Oh man! I really need to tell him before I forget!"

"What?" Raimee was completely stunned by his sudden change, but not as stunned as when she felt Chaos appear right beside her and jump into her body.

'_**That**__ was awesome! Raimee, I gotta—'_ Chaos thought, bursting with excitement.

'—_Chaos! I'm glad you're safe, but shut up! I'm talking.' _

'_Whoa, someone's still grumpy,'_ Chaos commented cheerfully.

'_No! Just surprised,'_ Raimee thought before refocusing on Tucker.

"Tell who about what?" she pressed, forcing herself to focus on his reaction. Call it an extra sensitive case of curiosity or an attempt to ignore earlier frustrations, but she was interested in what secrets were hidden in this strange ghost-infested school. If Tucker was anxious about something it could be a clue for the riddle. Plus he was the ghost-trace guy's friend. That was a whole other mystery all together.

"Oh, um," Tucker hesitated, obviously uncomfortable again. "I just remembered I had to tell Danny about…something for…that essay in Mr. Lancer's class." Raimee pursed her lips, positive that he was about to say something else.

'_You're __**talking**__ to him? What, should I be worried about an actual date?!'_ Chaos inquired, distracted from her storytelling.

'_No, he just helped me find my locker,'_ Raimee replied, disappointed that Tucker avoided her question. _'But he's hiding something and I want to know what it is!'_

'_Why so interested?' _Chaos asked

'_Hello! Ghost infested school?! Ghost-trace dude's best friend?!'_

'_Right…'_

"Oh…Mr. Lancer's essay…" Raimee sighed. "That will be a blast, huh?"

"Always a blast," Tucker sarcastically rolled his eyes. "But seriously, I need to go talk to Danny or—"

"Talk to me about what?" a voice asked from their right. Raimee and Tucker looked up to see Danny walking down the hallway with his backpack slung over one shoulder.

'_Speaking of the ghost-trace dude…' _Chaos thought quietly.

'_Yeah, he kind of pops up out of nowhere, huh?'_ Raimee agreed.

"Uh…I'll tell you later," Tucker muttered to his friend, sending her a pointed look.

"Okay…" Danny turned to her, one eyebrow raised in surprise. "Hi, you're…um…"

"Raimee," she answered for him.

"Yeah…sorry, I'm not good with names," he grinned apologetically, rubbing the back of his neck. She shrugged.

"No problem. It's an odd name to begin with." Danny nodded distractedly, sweeping the hallway carefully with his blue eyes.

"So…" The three teens exchanged awkward smiles.

'_You guys are just amazing conversation starters…'_ Chaos commented dryly. Raimee hid an eye roll.

'_I'd like to see you do better.'_

'_Easy. Wanna see me try?'_

'_No thanks.'_

"Uh, why are you two here anyways?" Danny finally broke the silence, eyeing Tucker and Raimee.

"I was finding my locker," she quickly replied. Danny turned to his friend.

"I was helping her find her locker," Tucker avoided the devious look Danny sent him. Fortunately he was saved from future teasing as Jazz came sliding into the hallway, a frazzled expression matching her hectic speed. Catching sight of the three she joined them, gasping slightly.

"**Danny**! I've been looking all over for you! There's a gho—" Jazz's eyes widened as her gazed focused on Raimee. "—Gooooing to have to be some changes to that paper you wanted me to look at for…um…English class. Yeah, there were several mistakes that could really affect your grade."

"Right," Danny said calmly, though his eyes narrowed slightly. Raimee had the distinct impression she was missing something again, and she bet it had something to do with what Tucker had to tell Danny too.

'_Okay, now __**I'm**__ getting the idea they're up to something,' _Chaos thought warily.

'_Yeah and this isn't the first time they've done that either, is it? Wonder if they're always like this...'_

'_I'm surprised no one else has noticed.'_

'_Yeah, I know,' _Raimee smiled at the older teen to cover her silent conversation as Jazz glanced between the three of them, a question forming in her eyes.

"Why are you two still here?" She pointed at Tucker and Raimee.

"To find my/her locker," the two answered. Tucker scowled as Jazz cocked her head to the side, a hint of a smile on her face.

"Really? That's nice...Could I talk to you **now **Danny? It's kind of important." Danny nodded, waving at Raimee as he followed his sister down the hall. Jazz waved too before her expression turned serious as she whispered to her brother.

"Uh, I gotta talk to him too. Sorry," Tucker said still frowning as he jogged to catch up with the two siblings.

'_What is up with them?' _Chaos wondered, shifting slightly within Raimee.

'_I don't know, but I'm going to find out. But first, what was so awesome earlier? Find a ghost?' _

'_Oh __**yeah**__ I did!'_

* * *

"So what do you think?" Jazz asked after describing the ghost she saw to both Danny and Tucker. Her brother scowled.

"Yep. That's the one I was just fighting...Well, actually **she** was fighting the Box Ghost and I kinda flew in on them."

"She was fighting the **Box Ghost**?" Tucker looked torn between skepticism and amusement. "The Box Ghost can't even fight!"

"Actually, she was more like threatening him within an inch of his afterlife," Danny replied, stuffing his fists in his pockets. The trio left through the double doors of Casper High into the late afternoon sunlight.

"Do you think she's going to be a problem?" Jazz inquired as she searched for her car in the parking lot. It was easy enough to find this late after school and she quickly headed for it. "Should we try to find her later?"

"**We** aren't finding anyone. Plus, I'm more worried about that new girl, Raimee," Danny said, following Jazz towards her car.

"Raimee? Why?"

"Well, she shows up and suddenly this new ghost shows up. Don't you think that's a little weird?" Both Jazz and Tucker shrugged.

"I think you're overreacting," Jazz calmly stated.

"Yeah," Tucker agreed, sliding into the back seat of her car as Jazz unlocked the doors. "New ghosts show up all the time. It was probably just a coincidence." Danny sighed.

"Fine. Call it a hunch, but there's something weird about her." Jazz pulled out of the parking lot, turning towards Tucker's house.

"It's probably best to wait and see. Instead you should focus on that new ghost—and your essay for Mr. Lancer, which by the way I just told Raimee you had finished. You better write one or else she'll suspect you," Jazz smirked. Danny groaned, slouching in his seat.

"Thanks," he grumbled sarcastically. Then, he perked up, looking back at Tucker from the passenger's seat. "Hey, what did you have to tell me anyways?"

"What?" Tucker asked, distracted from his PDA. "Oh yeah! There's a giant pig ghost destroying the grocery store down the block. Your cell phone was turned off so I ran up here—"

"—**TUCKER**!"

* * *

"Computer, open file AA17 and all linked reports," Vlad Plasmius watched the screen in front of him light up and respond to his command. The image of a pale teen ghost appeared, her red eyes glowing brightly and both of her hands crackled with red and black energy.

"Summarize," he ordered. The hazy image of Maddie Fenton materialized next to him, smiling widely.

"_AA17 is a young female ghost named Chaos who has haunted Madison for the past three years, Sweetcakes. Her abilities range from the usual to specialized techniques such as 'Chaos Sparks' and subtle possession,"_ the hologram quickly recited, sending him a look of adoration. Plasmius glared at the ghost on the screen, still stinging from his earlier defeat.

"I was so **close**! I had her in my hands and she **still** got away!" He whirled around and started pacing his large underground lab, his cape billowing around him. "One more second and my Ability Absorber would have sucked out her ghost powers **and** energy and transferred them to **me**!" Vlad stopped and eyed the picture of Chaos with contempt.

"But that ghost had to be uncharacteristically protective of a human, leaving me without my prize." A soft whirring from behind him stopped Plasmius in mid-rant. He turned to watch Skulker fly up with a slightly disgruntled expression on his mechanical face.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked, eyeing the images on the screen and the Maddie hologram. "Something about a new deal…?"

"Yes," said Vlad, an evil grin quickly hiding his previous frustration. "I think you'll find this contract particularly beneficial to you considering your expertise." Skulker's face remained indifferent though a feral gleam in his eyes showed his obvious interest. He crossed his arms and waited. Plasmius moved his attention to the computer screen, guiding Skulker to the large console.

"This is a ghost by the name of Chaos," he began briskly. "She has something I want but managed to escape me before I could take it from her. I would like you to track her down and bring her to me…relatively unharmed." Skulker's face fell.

"And my payment?" he inquired, obviously disappointed.

"You will receive the parts you need for the laser sword you have been developing," Vlad answered. Skulker seemed unconcerned at how well-informed his employer was of his personal inventions, but he hesitated.

"New parts alone won't be payment enough for a boring job like this," he bargained.

"She is not simple prey and will be quite elusive, especially with her ability to hide from ghost detectors while possessing someone," Vlad countered. Skulker raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"Undetectable while in a human?"

"Yes, I call it 'subtle possession'. It took me a while to find the human she resided in and even longer to flush her out," Plasmius answered, scowling. Skulker floated in silence, weighing his options.

"I will also allow you to keep her for your own pleasure after I have taken what I wanted," Plasmius offered. The ghostly hunter grinned.

"Deal. Is she in the human world or the Ghost Zone?" The half-ghost frowned in thought, resisting the urge to tell the hunter that he obviously wouldn't need his services if he knew where she was.

"My last encounter with her was in the human world, but she is no longer here," he said instead. Skulker remained silent for a few moments, studying the ghost girl on the screen.

"It will take some time to track her down if I don't know which dimension she's in, but she couldn't have traveled too far if she's in the human world," he stated, turning towards the portal into the Ghost Zone.

"I will track her down as fast I can. Have my payment ready." Plasmius watched as Skulker disappeared into the Ghost Zone before turning back to the fuzzy Maddie. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"Show me linked file number five," he commanded her.

"_Sure thing, Dearest Heart!" _The image of a human girl with dark brown hair appeared next to the picture of Chaos.

"Yes…the human girl she protected so fiercely," Vlad mused, his red eyes roaming his notes next to the pictures. "Raimee Perkings…read report." The hologram clapped her hands in front of her, her affectionate eyes never leaving his face.

"_Raimee Perkings, fifteen years old. She lives with her father, Brian Perkings. Her mother Gina Perkings was a phantomologist, now deceased. Her family has moved several times throughout her life, each move marked by strange paranormal activities. Her latest place of residence was Madison, Wisconsin but she has recently moved to an unknown location. That is all you have written. Is there anything else you want, Dumpling?"_ Plasmius waved a hand dismissively, turning from the computer.

"'Marked by strange paranormal activities'?" he wondered out loud. His troubled expression quickly changed to one of wicked anticipation. "Well we'll just have to find this girl then, won't we?"

* * *

**Dizgirl:** My reasons for my incredibly long absence: First, I had jaw surgery. I'm good now but for a long time I didn't feel like doing anything with stories. Second, I was on a jury for several weeks during which I had seriously planned on updating. That died quickly. Third, I have a second fic up here that I've been pouring my creative juices into: **Dream Themes**. Check it out please. Fourth, school started again and my creative writing class has taken up all my creativity for the past month. Therefore, I am sufficiently swamped and exempt from scorn!


	7. Technically a Ghost

**Dizgirl:**I changed the summary if anyone cares. I wasn't pleased with the last one, so I decided to try something new. I had this chapter done a few days ago but I wanted mi hermano to check it out first (as he always does) before I uploaded it. Unfortunately he's been swamped with homework so this has only been edited by me! Hopefully it's still good! Enjoy and love people!

* * *

**Technically a Ghost**

"If I wasn't already a vegetarian, I would be now," Sam muttered darkly to her two friends as she followed Danny into the cafeteria. He smirked before picking up a lunch tray and joining the line of hungry students.

"I would agree except then I would have to eat vegetables," Tucker replied from beside her, mimicking Danny by grabbing his own plastic tray. Glancing at the scowling lunch lady, he squeezed his eyes shut and whispered, "please don't be pork! **Please**!"

"Aw come on guys. It wasn't so bad," Danny grinned as both Sam and Tucker groaned.

"Well unlike a certain ghost-boy I know, we don't have the ability to go intangible!" Sam hissed, holding up her lunch box when Tucker offered her a tray. He set it down with a clang and trailed after Danny, sighing in relief as the older woman slapped a dark brown mush onto his plate.

"Good old meatloaf," he sighed happily. "But seriously dude, I think I'm **still **picking out pieces of ghost pig from my clothes! How can a ghost explode like that anyways?"

"You'd be surprised," Danny answered with amusement. "Spectra did, didn't she?" The trio chuckled at the memory as they made their way to their usual table. Scanning the cafeteria briefly, Danny's expression suddenly hardened.

"What?" Sam asked, pulling out an orange from her lunch box.

"The new girl, Raimee," he whispered, watching as said girl bit her lip nervously while searching the cafeteria for a seat.

"You don't still think that she's connected to that new ghost, do you?" After the pig incident the day before Danny had informed Sam about his suspicions of Raimee in hopes that she would side with him against Tucker and Jazz. Unfortunately she had quickly dismissed his theory and had argued that he was being overly-paranoid.

"Why not? I'm telling you, I'm pretty sure that that ghost girl is the one I've been sensing, and I haven't seen any other ghosts after those bird ones—"

"—And the pig. Don't forget the pig," Tucker interrupted with a shudder. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, so it's got to be her, and Raimee is always around when I sense that ghost," Danny continued confidently. "Besides, there's something about Raimee…it's just weird." Sam stared at him skeptically.

"Look, she came to lunch with us two days ago. Don't you think you would have sensed the ghost **then**?"

"Yeah and who invited her to our table in the first place?" Tucker added. "Not that I'm complaining…"

"So the ghost wasn't with her then; I only sensed it twice in Lancer's class and Raimee was there both times," Danny countered to Sam.

"And that **must** mean its true," Sam quipped sarcastically.

"Well at least I was right about the ghost not being friendly, which by the way was the only reason I invited Raimee to our table. I was being** friendly** to someone who was new to our school." Tucker shrugged, satisfied with Danny's answer.

"Then go after the ghost and there won't be anymore problems," Sam snapped back.

"Fine, I will tonight," Danny said, but Tucker shook his head and swallowed a mouthful of the indistinguishable brown mush.

"No way. You're grounded remember? If you don't come home after school then you'll be in even more trouble." Danny groaned.

"Right. I forgot," he sighed heavily, playing with his mashed potatoes. "And sneaking out's no good, not after they saw my last report card." Sam and Tucker both sent him sympathetic looks, the argument quickly dissolving as they fell silent.

"At least all the ghosts are gone besides this new one," Tucker finally said hopefully.

"Not after you said that," Sam replied with a grim smile.

"Thanks a lot Tu—" Danny grumbled as he was cut off by his ghost sense. Giving Tucker a look, he quickly searched the cafeteria. "Hey, where's the new girl?"

"First you should find out what ghost it is," Sam suggested.

"Okay, but this proves my point," he stood up.

"Maybe," Sam admitted doubtfully as he took off for the double doors. Squeezing around a gaggle of theatre kids, Danny entered the empty hallway. He glanced both ways to make sure that he was alone before mumbling his battle cry. A flash of light later, Danny Phantom took off down the hallway in search of a ghost. It only took him a minute before his ghost sense led him to the computer lab where he could hear someone muttering quietly.

"What the heck? There's nothing here. I mean, there's ghost energy, but there's ghost energy **everywhere**. Why did she sense it **here**?" Recognizing the voice, Danny phased through the door. Sure enough, the same ghost teen as yesterday floated a few feet in front of him, hands on her hips.

"Who sensed what here?" Danny asked. The girl spun around, her red eyes wide with surprise but they narrowed quickly. A sly smile appeared on her face.

"Hello again ghost dude," she greeted him, neatly avoiding his question. He scowled in return.

"I have a name you know, but first tell me who you were talking about."

"I would if I could but I can't, so there," she teased. "How 'bout we fight instead? A little chaos would make my day."

"Well, if you really want—" the bell signaling for the end of lunch interrupted Danny and both ghosts froze. "Uh… we'll settle this later!" he warned before disappearing through the door.

"But I want to fight **now**!"

* * *

'_He showed up __**again**__? What did I tell you? You need to watch out or that ghost guy is gonna get you.' _

'_What did I tell __**you**__? I __**want**__ to fight him!'_ Chaos snapped back, sounding thoroughly annoyed that she had missed another chance to battle a ghost.

'_You are such a battle junkie,'_ Raimee smiled amusedly. _'But besides your bad habits—'_

'—_hey! What's a better way to create chaos than an all out melee?'_ Chaos interrupted her.

'_Anyways,'_ Raimee continued, _'did you find that ghost? I mean, was it really just the ghost dude or was it something else?'_

'_I dunno. The ghost dude probably, but he did show up __**after**__ I got there.'_

'_Where's there?'_

'_The computer lab.' _

'_Hmmm….I don't know what to make of that,' _Raimee thought, turning her attention to where she was going. She smiled as she recognized the doors to her left which led to the school library. After her encounter with Tucker and the Fenton siblings two days before, making her way around school was a bit easier. She now could find her locker (and therefore the library) with ease at least.

She wished she could say the same about the rest of her problems. Raimee and her dad had hardly talked to each other since Tuesday, but that was not so much due to their argument as it was that he was extremely busy with his job and she with school work. As for the mystery of Danny Fenton and also the apparent ghost problem throughout Amity Park (the news had a report about a large and explosive pig that had destroyed a grocery store recently) she was at a complete lost. The only sign of ghost activity at Casper High since the Box Ghost was the incident yesterday in the computer lab where Chaos met the ghost dude.

'_So…is there any particular reason we're in a library right after you bought that book from the creepy bookstore?'_ Chaos muttered when Raimee started wandering among the shelves.

'_First of all I don't think you have the right to call a bookstore creepy when you are the ghost of havoc and mischief yourself,'_ Raimee pointed out, sliding her finger along the shelf to her right.

'_**Chaos**__! I'm the ghost of chaos! There's a reason that's my __**name**__, you know!'_

'_Second of all,' _Raimee overrode her friend's protests, _'that book is for personal education, but I'm getting a book here for pure entertainment. I'm thinking another mystery. Those are a lot of fun to figure out.' _

'_Well as long as it isn't some stupid plot that's easy to guess within the first five minutes,'_ Chaos countered.

'_What are you talking about? Sure you made a guess and you __**happened**__ to be right, but it was pure chance,' _Raimee argued, pausing at the end of one row where a book caught her eye.

'_Tch! Chance! I don't __**do**__ chance.'_

'_The ghost of chaos doesn't 'do chance'? Right, because that makes sense. You're whole __**career**__ is based on the fact that there's always a chance that something can go wrong. Murphy is practically your twin brother!' _

'_Who's Murphy?'_ Chaos asked. Raimee shook her head at the sincerity in her friend's voice, simultaneously pulling the book from its place and flipping idly through the pages.

'_Never mind. Here, I found a book so let's go.'_

'_No seriously, who's Murphy?'_

'_It's not that important,' _Raimee thought, making her way to the library's front desk._ 'It's just a cultural reference.' _

'_But I don't get it,'_ Chaos replied seriously. Raimee smiled at the librarian while she typed on the computer.

"Oh drat," the woman muttered under her breath as the computer made a funny whine before blanking out completely. "These computers are getting weirder by the year. I keep telling the principal to get some more funding but **no**, we're **just** fine."

Turning to Raimee with an apologetic smile she told her, "I'm sorry but this will take a few moments while I manually check it out. Do you have an ID card?"

"Oh…um…not yet. I'm new—just transferred in—and they haven't made me one yet. I guess the computers in the main office have been acting oddly too," Raimee babbled, disappointed that she might not be able to check out the book.

"Oh well…unless I can write down your ID number then I can't let you have this."

"But I know my number!" Raimee swung her backpack off and searched for the paper with her schedule on it. "Here, will this work?" Apparently that was enough for the librarian who quickly wrote what she needed down and made Raimee promise to return the book within two weeks.

"I'm allowing this only because you have a clean slate," she warned. "Misplace or ruin my book and you'll never check out anything from this school again."

"Right...um, thanks," Raimee smiled weakly before gathering her stuff and rushing out into the hallway. Grateful for her locker's convenient location nearby, she pulled it open and stashed her new book in it along with a few other items from her morning classes.

'_Well that was interesting. She was kinda cool, all scary and nice at the same time,'_ Chaos commented while Raimee pulled out her homemade lunch and her phantomology book.

'_That would be just the type of person for you, wouldn't it?' _Raimee thought wryly._ 'Works perfectly with your 'good' ghost image.' _

'_Sure does,'_ Chaos agreed. _'Um, why are you taking out that book instead of the other one? Can't make up your mind?'_

'_Because there's this one part I want to read to you and we have all of lunch alone. I mean I didn't find anyone else to sit with yesterday or the day before that—not that I __**mind**__,'_ Raimee explained, hefting the large book into one arm while she swung her locker shut with the other. _'Hmm…this backpack-book combo will be really heavy until P.E.'_

'_I'd help you but apparently that'd blow our cover,'_ Chaos thought teasingly.

'_Yes, yes it would and I like our cover quite a lot thank you.' _

"Fen-**TURD**!** There** you are!" Startled, Raimee looked up to see 'Mr. Jerk-Jock' from Monday rush past her to the end of the hallway. Looking around his broad shoulders, she could make out the now-familiar black hair and blue eyes of Danny Fenton. He was with Tucker, who had been chattering happily but now watched the jock, Dash Baxter she recalled, stomp towards them menacingly.

'_This doesn't look good…'_

'_He's got the stance of a predator who's just found his prey. I would know since I've done it myself,'_ Chaos thought, her tone colored with interest. _'If I can't fight, at least I can see someone else's!'_

'_Chaos!'_

'_What? I __**am**__ a ghost. Ghost's fight,' _Chaos defended.

'_Not all of them…'_

'_Well, __**they**__ can't really call themselves ghosts. I mean, come on!' _Chaos reasoned, but then changed subjects abruptly._ 'Oh, ouch! Did you see that?' _Raimee had. Dash had pushed Tucker aside, grabbed Danny by the collar, and slammed him into the lockers behind him. Danny winced and pulled at Dash's grip, but the jock seemed furious.

Raimee moved closer just in time to hear Dash growl, "guess what grade I got on my last history test! Yeah, an **F**. Guess whose fault it is!"

'_Hmmm…__**yours**__,'_ Chaos answered silently in Raimee's head.

'_Who else?'_ she agreed.

"Dash, how am I supposed to stop you from getting bad grades? Get yourself a tutor or something," Danny suggested, glaring.

"Shut** up** Fentonia or I'll beat the crap out of ya!" Dash retorted, raising one fist threateningly. Raimee took a step forward to stop him just as Tucker did the same when the bell above Danny's head rang shrilly.

"Uh, hear that? That's the lunch bell, you don't want to stand in line forever, right Dash?" Tucker spoke up, smiling weakly. Dash's face darkened, looking like he'd love to hit Tucker too, but then he dropped Danny to the floor and stalked off towards the cafeteria.

"You'll get it later, Fenton!" Dash warned him as he left.

"Oh my…" Raimee murmured, hugging her book and lunch to her chest. "That was scary."

"He's not that bad," Danny replied, standing up and brushing his shirt off. "He likes to act all macho but…." he shrugged.

"That's you, man. I wouldn't want to get on the bad side of Dash; it's not fun," Tucker said, retrieving his glasses from where they had fallen when he was pushed.

'_What's he talking 'bout? I think it'd be lots of fun!' _Chaos shifted inside of Raimee.

'_Yeah, lots…'_ Raimee thought sarcastically.

"Hey, what's that?" She looked up to see Danny pointing at her book.

"Oh this? It's a book I got from this bookstore called the Skulk and Lurk last week. Looked interesting," Raimee answered, holding it up for him to inspect. His blue eyes narrowed but he remained silent.

"Hey! Sam loves that store!" Tucker said. "It's got a bunch of goth poetry and stuff."

"Yeah, it was kinda scary but it's the closest one to my apartment so…" Raimee trailed off, unnerved by the stony expression on Danny's face. The three paused when Danny suddenly shivered and sent Tucker a nervous look. At the same time Raimee felt a wisp of ghost energy coming from her right inside the wall.

'_Ghost,'_ Raimee informed Chaos, wondering why Danny suddenly seemed cold when she felt perfectly comfortable.

'_**Again**__?'_

"Well, uh, we'd better get to lunch. Don't want to stand in line either, you know," Tucker grinned nervously as he put on his glasses. Danny nodded and the two boys took off in the same direction as Dash. Raimee stared at their retreating backs.

'_Was it just me or did Danny seem, I dunno, angry at me or something? And that was a quick exit too…' _

'_He was definitely glaring but maybe he was just embarrassed that Dash was picking on him. I mean the guy didn't even fight back or anything,' _Chaos answered. _'Now where's the ghost?' _

'_I felt it in the wall but now it's gone. I don't know where it went,'_ Raimee slowly followed Danny and Tucker. _'This just keeps getting weirder and weirder.'_

* * *

"It's just weird, okay?" Danny grumbled as he followed Tucker and Sam into the library. "She was right there when my ghost sense went off and you saw how she looked, Tucker. She was **nervous**!"

"Yeah but I would be too if you were glaring at me like you were to her," his friend replied.

"You were **glaring** at her?" Sam asked, sending a hard look at Danny.

"No, not glaring…exactly," he defended himself as they grabbed a table in the back. "I…well who carries books about ghosts around other than people **involved** with ghosts? We know Valerie does, and sometimes we do for research, and that creepy guy in third hour too but he's probably involved in ghost stuff anyways." Sam waved a hand dismissively as she set their history textbook on the table and pulled out a notebook and pen.

"Has it ever occurred to you that she might just be interested in paranormal stuff, especially when she moves here to Amity Park where you see ghosts every other day?" Sam raised an eyebrow as Danny didn't respond right away.

"Fine, don't believe me," he muttered belatedly. "What do we have to do for this stupid project anyways?"

"It's just a paper about the origins of America. You know, Columbus, the pilgrims, or the colonies. That stuff," Tucker answered, fiddling with his PDA. "We can use whatever sources we want as long as they're scholarly, which means no dusty books for me; I'm going straight to the internet." Grimacing, Sam opened her textbook to the index.

"It's due next week on the same day as Lancer's essay. It's like they're **trying** to make us fail," she added unhappily. "But when has that been new?" Danny groaned, his head flopping onto the table.

"I'm so going to fail this…."

"Hey, we have the whole class period to do research today," Sam reassured him, sending Tucker a pointed look to help.

"Yeah, plus there's the weekend and since you're already grounded you'll have plenty of time to work on both of them!"

"Yeah, when I'm not fighting **ghosts**!" As if on cue, Danny's ghost sense appeared and he shivered, looking around the quiet library filled with his classmates. "See what I **mean**?" Tucker grinned guiltily.

"Sorry again?"

"No time," Danny said as the lights dimmed and crackled. Maniacal laughter echoed through the room as the library computers rose into the air, glowing oddly. They collided together in the center and a breeze picked up, sweeping through the bookshelves and sending books and papers flying.

"Three guesses who that could be," Sam remarked sarcastically.

"My PDA!" Tucker yelped as it was ripped from his hands and attached to the mass of electronics. Students screamed and ducked under the desks, trying to hold onto their belongings, though cell phones and laptops were swirling through the air. Danny ducked under his own table, exchanging determined looks with his two best friends.

"I'm going ghost!" Two rings burst to life around him, leaving behind his trademark black suit and glowing white hair. Danny Phantom grinned as he jumped into the air, ignoring the ghostly wind that whipped around him. A light flashed from the floating technology and one of the monitors showed a familiar face.

"**Aha**! I, **Technus**, ruler of all things electronically based, have returned to wreak havoc on all who dare oppose me and my groovy new body of educational technology!" the machine bellowed.

"And I'm here to tell you that your machinery now matches your outdated language!" Danny flew forward and blasted Technus right in the chest. He tumbled backwards into several rows of shelves, sending them crashing to the floor below him. Danny smirked as Technus struggled to get up.

"You cannot stop me now, ghost child! For I have all of your school records for every—" Before Technus could finish Danny lunged forward and turned both of them intangible as they fell through the library wall.

"Shut up!" he warned as the two fell onto the grass outside the school. "What, did you degrade back down to your talkative one point oh version?"

"I, Technus, do not degrade nor ever revert back to older versions of myself!"

"Yeah? Prove it!" Danny taunted, jumping off the ghost and sending twin blasts of burning green ectoplasm down at the ghost.

* * *

"Ghoooost!" A guy screamed, dropping the kickball he had been holding and running for cover. Raimee watched as most of her classmates took off after him with her P.E. teacher Tetslaff barking orders to find a hiding spot and stay put. She had already felt the ghost vaguely on the edge of her senses, but now she could see the real thing…or **things**. Not only was the ghost boy present again but this time he was accompanied by a large ghost who seemed to be entirely made out of electronics.

"Uh-oh," she mumbled, searching for a place to hide. The ghosts were both in the sky now, swirling around each other and shouting quips and threats. Raimee spotted a patch of bushes near the school sign stationed at the edge of the practice field. She ducked between the foliage and twisted around to watch the fight.

'_Okay, watching him fight only makes me want to fight him __**more**__,'_Chaos whined from her position inside Raimee.

'_Not gonna happen.' _

'_You'd be surprised. I'll just leave for a couple hours and return, triumphant and totally cool,'_ Chaos thought smugly.

'_Don't count your chickens before they hatch,' _Raimee warned.

'_Who said anything about chickens?' _Before Raimee could respond (very sarcastically), she was distracted by a heavy sigh to her right.

"Isn't he amazing?" She turned to see a pretty Hispanic girl smile dreamily at the two ghosts fighting above them.

"Um…are you talking to **me**…about the **ghosts**?" Raimee asked in surprise. The girl looked vaguely familiar; something to do with Tuesday afternoon and a feeling of annoyance, but Raimee couldn't place the connection.

'_Have I met her?'_ she asked Chaos.

'_Uh…'_

"Who else? And not both of the ghosts, just **him**," the girl sighed again, practically swooning as the ghost boy flew closer to them.

"That ghost dude?"

"He has a name you know, and it's not Invisobill either, it's Danny Phantom!" The girl informed her angrily, as if expecting Raimee to argue. Instead, she smiled encouragingly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. I'm new here," Raimee said.

'_Ah! I know who she is!'_ Chaos's declared. _'She's one of those stupid cheerleaders we saw when you were looking for your lockers! Don't listen to a word she says!'_

'_Shhh! If she knows more about this Danny Phantom don't you want to here about it?'_ Raimee thought. Chaos grumbled but didn't protest as Raimee spoke to the girl again.

"So, do you know more about this Danny Phantom? He seems to hang out at the school a lot."

"Of course I know more about him, he saved my life **twice**! And he almost went to my birthday party and he knows my **name**!" the girl rambled with a dismissive look at Raimee. "That's **way** more than anyone else at this school can say!"

"I bet…er, thanks," Raimee mumbled, but the girl had already turned away to watch Phantom slam into the ground. She gasped but then cheered as he jumped up and started sending a barrage of ecto-blasts back at the mechanical ghost.

'_So he'll talk to humans, fight ghosts, but he refuses to battle __**me**__?' _Chaos growled._ 'What's up with __**that**__?'_

'_Hmmm…maybe you're just too pushy,'_ Raimee smiled_._

'_Excuse me for wanting some fun!' _The two ghosts were moving closer and she heard the girl mutter something about her flawless skin and a safer hiding spot before scurrying off. Frowning slightly, Raimee couldn't help but agree that it was getting too dangerous to stay where she was.

Turning to leave, she froze as she heard a loud screeching sound rip the air to her left, so different than the normal sizzling thuds of the ecto-blasts hitting the ground and outside wall of the school. She spun around to look up at the large sign reading, _'Welcome to Casper High: Home of the Ravens!'_ sway unsteadily in the sky. Raimee glanced down, noticing that the thick, metal base, weakened by a stray green ecto-blast was about to give way. It was going to fall on her! Stunned, she stood there, mouth opening slightly in surprise. The signed creaked and suddenly the base collapsed, heading straight for her.

'_Ray!'_ Chaos screamed inside her, waking her up with a jerk. Raimee turned to her right even though she knew she wouldn't make it on her own. Then, her mind went fuzzy and she recognized the familiar sensation of being possessed by a ghost. The world swirled away, blurring her vision and her thoughts along with it. She hung onto consciousness as best she could, but with Chaos in control it was too hard. Then, the world seemed to suddenly snap back into place as Chaos let go and gave Raimee control over her body again.

'_Raimee May Perkings! What were you thinking just standing there?!'_ Chaos practically shrieked inside her head. Raimee blinked, slightly woozy from being possessed.

'_Don't use my full name like that…_' she responded distractedly, focusing on where Chaos had moved her. It wasn't very far from the wrecked remains of the welcome sign. One might even think she had just dived out of the way in time, though she knew the sign was falling too fast for her to be able to do that. But, it was safer to let people think otherwise.

As for what really happened, Raimee guessed Chaos had made her intangible and just thrown her over to safe ground before relinquishing control. She leaned back, a wobbly smile of relief slowly spreading over her face. _'I can't believe you would…_' Chaos continued to rant inside of her head as Raimee ignored her. She was alive! She wasn't about to let Chaos ruin that. The smile faded quickly though as she realized the ghost boy—Danny Phantom—was floating next to her, a look of shock written clearly on his face.

"How did you…?" he glanced back at the wreckage and then at her again. "The sign was falling too fast…I couldn't fly fast enough…how did you get out of the way?" Raimee blinked again, rubbing a bump that was slowly forming on the back of her head.

"Uh…I jumped…?" she offered weakly, knowing that wouldn't hold up if he asked for more specifics. But instead he held out his hand and lifted her up off the ground.

"Well, I guess as long as you're okay…" he said, shooting her a suspicious look. Raimee nodded fervently (though it made her head throb) hoping he would leave it at that.

"I'm fine. I ju—watch out!" The electronic ghost had come up behind Phantom and used the distraction to throw several ecto-blasts in his direction. The ghost boy threw a shield over the two of them, grimacing as the barrage of blasts pounded against it.

"You are **really** starting to get on my nerves, Technus," he muttered under his breath as he struggled to maintain the ghost shield.

"Technus?" Raimee asked, looking through the shield at the ghost attacking them with new interest.

"Yeah, big evil technology ghost bent on world domination who really doesn't know when to stop talking," the ghost boy rambled, clearly focusing more on his shield than her questions.

'_Interesting…' _Raimee thought. She heard her ghost friend snarl quietly and winced apologetically.

'_I think it's more interesting that you would **purposefully** put yourself in danger!'_ Chaos retorted_._

'_Oh come on! Don't tell me you don't find this guy interesting!'_ Raimee countered.

'_Yeah, when my best friend's not in __**danger**__!' _A sudden blast from both ghosts as Phantom dropped his shield brought the girls' argument to an abrupt halt. Raimee gasped, covering her head with both arms as Technus and Phantom flew up, sending more ectoplasm slicing through the air.

'_What did I tell ya?' _Chaos asked as Raimee scrambled back from the remains of the sign and back into the bushes where the Hispanic girl had been hiding.

'_Yeah yeah, horrible danger.' _Raimee grumbled, pressing lightly on the bump on her head. A screech from above pulled her attention back to the ghost fight. She watched as the ghost boy aimed the same device he had used two mornings ago and blasted Technus with a blinding bluish light. Convinced the ghost was gone, Danny Phantom disappeared from sight.

'_So…'_ Raimee remarked, brushing her pants as she stood up. She swayed slightly as the blood rushed from her head. Wincing, she stood still until the dizziness left.

'_You all right?'_ Chaos asked, her tone torn between concern and left-over fury.

'_Yeah and I won't be going so close to future ghost fights okay?'_

'_Ya better not. Now go to the nurse!'_

'_No way! It's just a bump!'_ Raimee argued. Chaos hissed silently.

'_Go or I'm possessing you again and forcing you to!'_

'_Fine, whatever.' _Raimee trudged off to the nurse's office, oblivious as a dark-haired teen came bursting from the trees nearby, limping slightly as he followed her back into the school. His gaze focused strictly on her as he held a thermos tightly in his arm, unaware as two glowing red eyes monitored their progress from the safety of the shadows in the alleyway across the street. The owner of the glowing eyes chuckled darkly.

"I will have my revenge on you, ghost boy. Perhaps this girl will be the key….You shall know that no man can stand up to me unless **I **wish it!"


	8. Troubled Humans, Troublesome Ghosts

**Dizgirl: **I'M BACK! Yes siree, this ain't no joke! So straight on to business. THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! You people shower me with love and I thank you so much! You guys get an extra long chapter as a prize! YAY! Yes, we're starting to get into the meat of the story now. So hope you like it and enjoy and love!

* * *

**Troubled Humans, Troublesome Ghosts**

Jack fiddled with the inside of one of the Fenton bazookas, pulling out multi-colored wires until they piled around him and trailed onto the living room floor. For some reason this gun had shorted out on him when he had attempted to use it. Instead of blasting the ghost he was hunting, the device had tried to backfire on **him**! Luckily, the bazooka had missed actually **hitting** him. Otherwise he would have had an unpleasant visit to the Ghost Zone.

Since it was most likely a wiring problem, he had decided to reconfigure the whole gun, giving it some new features along with the usual portal-creating-ecto-blast. Unfortunately the gun was proving more difficult to untangle than he originally thought. He really should've labeled some of these wires when he first made it….

Just as he managed to separate the first wire from the bunch, the doorbell rang. Looking up, he frowned. "Honey! Door!"

"I'm not falling for that one again," Maddie called from the kitchen, where he could hear the sound of clinking dishes and the muted hum of the TV. "You're closer, you get it!"

"But I—"

"—can fix the bazooka later," she answered for him. From the tone in her voice, Jack knew that arguing would get him nowhere. Sighing, he stood up, the wires spilling from his lap.

"Alright," he grumbled. Then, realizing that the door could mean a visitor that he could babble to about ghosts (or something equally as exciting), he grinned and bounded for the door with his bazooka still in hand. He pulled the door open so fast that the hinges creaked in protest, but all thoughts of reinforcing them disappeared from his mind as he realized who their visitor was.

"Vladdy! What are you doing here?" Jack greeted his friend loudly. He swung the bazooka up onto his shoulder, oblivious to the uneasy look Vlad gave the machine.

"What, can't I visit an old college friend for no apparent reason?" he asked calmly with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Well of course you can!" Jack answered, still grinning himself. "Come on in!" He moved to the side and Vlad slid past him, careful not to touch any of the random wires that hung like vines down Jack's shoulders.

"Maddie, look who's here!" he bellowed. Maddie peeked her head around the corner, her amethyst eyes widening in surprise.

"Vlad…" she said, giving him a strained smile. "How…nice to see you."

"Ah, Maddie, you grow more beautiful each time I see you," Vlad replied, walking quickly towards her. Jack swung the door shut and followed after his friend.

"Well, thank you. What's the occasion?"

"Actually I have a business venture I need to attend to here. Since I'm staying in town for a few days I knew I would have to visit my ghost-hunting friends," he explained, glancing around at the living room. She nodded.

"Well if you're here for a few days, then where are you staying?"

"At the Flying Dutch—" before he could finish, Jack interrupted him.

"—You can't stay at a hotel! Come stay here with us!"

"Jack…" Maddie warned him.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to impose," Vlad assured her.

"Nonsense, a friend of the Fentons is always welcome in our home!" Jack insisted. "We have that guest room upstairs and it will be great to spend some time together—just like back in college!"

"But he's on a business trip, honey. He won't have time for socializing," Maddie pointed out.

"Well, I could extend the trip a few days…" neither of the Fentons saw the smirk that flashed across Vlad's face.

"That's a great idea! Then you can help me redo the Fenton Bazooka!" Jack brandished the gutted weapon high in the air. Suddenly the machine whirred loudly and a blast shot out from the back towards the sofa behind him. The couch shuddered as a swirling green vortex appeared between its cushions and ripped it apart, sucking the remains into the portal. Silence followed as all three adults gaped at the empty spot where the couch had rested.

"Heh heh…guess I forgot to unplug the ectoplasmic energy thingy," Jack grinned sheepishly. Maddie grimaced, pulling the weapon from Jack's unsteady grip and resting it on the coffee table.

"I think I'll deal with that later," she told him softly, her tone strained again. Vlad, who had jumped back as soon the machine had triggered, straightened his jacket casually.

"It's never boring with you Jack," he said, a hint of mockery in his tone.

"Sorry," Jack murmured to Maddie. She shook her head.

"We can finally get a new set," she replied, smiling briefly. "One without ectoplasmic stains and burns. For now, why don't you come sit down in the kitchen, Vlad?"

"That sounds wonderful," Vlad followed her into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. Jack copied him as Maddie picked up a towel. The small television on the counter was turned to the news and the screen changed from a nervous Lance Thunder back to Tiffany Snow. She smiled cheekily at the camera.

_**In other news, gardeners are baffled by extensive plant damage throughout the city's park. Vandalism is suspected though many claim that there was ghostly activity—**_

Maddie pushed the off button and went over to the sink. She picked up a sopping wet dish and turned to the men as she dried it.

"If you want to, you're welcome here Vlad," she offered finally, breaking the silence. "We're a little busy with our work but if you don't mind that…."

"No worries at all, I'll be in and out enough myself," Vlad replied. "I am very grateful for the offer. The Flying Dutchman is…a little over the top for my tastes."

"You know that they say the place is haunted?" Jack cut in, excitement back at the prospect of talking about ghosts. "I can't wait to test out our newest bazookas on the place!"

"We are **not** testing those new bazookas any time soon," Maddie told him firmly. She frowned and glanced towards the living room. "Not until we work out all the bugs at least."

"Knowing you, Maddie, I'm sure they'll be fixed in no time," Vlad stated confidently. As Jack launched into a plan to scour the hotel for ghosts, Vlad smirked to himself, the wheels churning in his mind.

"But a few more 'bugs' would certainly work out in my favor."

* * *

Raimee walked down the steps from the school's front entrance and started the trek home. She was far enough away that she could take the bus, but between Chaos's offers to fly her there and a bad experience with bus bullies back in junior high, she hardly ever did. Wondering whether or not her dad would be home this early, she unconsciously rubbed the back of her head.

'_Is your head okay?'_ Chaos instantly asked.

'_Yes, Chaos, it is. Just like it has been the other hundred times you've asked me that yesterday __**and**__ today,'_ Raimee thought, rolling her eyes. _'I told you I didn't have to go to the nurse. I don't even have a concussion.'_

'_Yeah, well sorry for caring.'_

'_No, I'm glad you care really, just not so __**much**__. Besides, if you really care you could do all my history and English homework for me.' _

'_Uh, not happening,' _Chaos replied. _'Me and essays don't work well together.' _

'_Essays and __**I**__,'_ Raimee corrected her impishly.

'_See what I mean?'_

'_Yeah, yeah, but it would've been great if you were actually a famous dead author instead of an infamous dead troublemaker.' _

'_Ooh…I like the sound of that! Chaos, the infamous dead troublemaker, __**strikes again**__!'_

'_Strikes what?'_ Raimee asked bemusedly. She turned down her street, and made her way towards her apartment.

'_Uh...'_

'_Right, well while you figure that out…'_ she trailed off as she recognized her father's car in the parking lot to the side of the complex. _'Great, Dad's home.' _

'_Have you guys made up yet?'_

'_Not really. Normally I'd just let it slide but his stubbornness is really starting to get to me,' _Raimee answered as she walked up the stairs.

'_You know you're being just as stubborn as he is, right?' _Chaos joked. Raimee didn't reply to that, but paused outside her apartment door. Her forehead crinkled as she frowned.

'_Chaos, I think there's a ghost nearby…'_

'_Hey, no changing the subject!'_

'_No seriously,'_ Raimee focused her mind and felt a glimmer of ghost energy on the edge of her senses.

'_I think there might be…'_ she stopped as the glimmer disappeared. _'Or not…?'_

'_Do you want me to go after it? Maybe it's the Phantom dude!'_ Chaos thought hopefully.

'_Don't bother. I might have imagined it anyway; y'know, any reason to get out of a heart-to-heart with my dad.'_

'_Alright…' _Chaos grumbled disappointedly_._

Raimee sighed, entering her home and trudging down the hallway. As she passed the kitchen, she noticed her dad sitting at the table with a laptop in front of him. Hoping that maybe he was too involved with work to notice she was there, she quietly slipped past the room.

"Raimee," Mr. Perkings called out. Wincing, she turned around and planted herself in the archway.

"Hi Dad," she greeted him quietly. Awkward silence fell between them as both struggled to find the right thing to say.

'_Chaos, want to leave us alone for a moment?'_ Raimee asked her silently.

'_Sure, I'll be in your room,'_ Chaos slipped out of her body and flew invisibly down the hallway.

"Ray, I'm sorry for getting…upset with you," her father finally said, looking down at his laptop and pushing it away. "I know that you miss your mother and you want to use your gift to feel closer to her—"

"—Dad, it's not that," Raimee interrupted him, mentally sighing. "I would still want to learn about ghosts even if she was still alive."

"Which is exactly why you need to stay away from them. Your mother is gone because she kept sensing ghosts and running after them."

"You were fine with it when I was little," Raimee countered sullenly, shrugging her backpack off onto the ground.

"Yes, and then **it** happened," he muttered darkly. She blinked, her irritation evaporating as she was struck by the sudden sense of déjà vu. Hadn't she just told Chaos that the other day?

"Yeah, one ghost out of a million," Raimee echoed Chaos's reply slowly. How had she ended up so much like her dad? Mr. Perkings frowned.

"One ghost is enough," he stated. "I don't want to fight with you, Ray, but you can't get involved with ghost stuff. Not here, not now, not ever."

"And what if I can't help it, huh?" Raimee asked, her temper flaring up again. He was basically telling her to cut ties with Chaos and half of herself, and **that** would never happen. "Do you know where you moved us? **Amity Park**! That's like asking for ghost stuff to just come out screaming at you!"

"Well unfortunately that's where my work moved," he answered tersely, standing up from the table. "Believe me I would rather find us a place devoid of **anything** that is even **possibly** related to ectoplasm, but I'm doing the best I can!"

"But what if I like it here? What if I actually found a place where I can be myself more than anywhere else?" Raimee argued. "People don't look at you funny when you wear ghost stuff or carry around books about ghosts!" _Except Danny Fenton maybe_, she corrected herself silently.

"And do you know what the crime rates are here? We've lived here almost **two** weeks and I've seen more damage on buildings and roads than anywhere else I've ever visited!" Raimee glared at the linoleum floor, frustrated tears pricking her eyes.

"Forget it," she mumbled. "It's not like **you** understand." She turned down the hallway towards her room where Chaos's energy glowed.

"Raimee…" her father called after her.

"No!" She slammed her door behind her and flung herself onto her bed. Burying her head in her pillow she gave a muffled scream. After a few minutes, Chaos landed on the bed next to her.

"Didn't go so hot, huh? If you want me to, I can go beat him up or something," Chaos offered. Raimee snorted, and rolled over so she could face her ghostly friend.

"Thanks, but you probably shouldn't. He'll know I'm involved with ghosts then," she told her wryly, wiping her cheeks. Chaos shrugged.

"Tch, whatever you want."

"What I want?" Raimee repeated softly. Her green eyes scanned her ceiling covered in glow-in-the-dark stars. "I want my mom. I want to not have to hide you all the time. I want to talk to my dad without arguing. I want…" she trailed off and sighed.

"I don't think you can get all those things," Chaos whispered, staring out her window.

"I know, but sometimes I just really wish my dad could understand my gift, you know?" Raimee shifted her gaze onto her friend.

"Yeah…" Chaos agreed, the corner of her mouth turning up into a small smile. "But I don't' think that's happening any time soon."

"Unfortunately," Raimee sighed.

Outside her room, Brian Perkings sat down heavily at the kitchen table. Running a hand through his hair, he exhaled slowly and turned towards his laptop. He didn't notice the swirl of magenta behind him as a woman appeared, a large grin on her face. Twirling her hands in the air she murmured to herself soundlessly.

"So you have wished it, so shall it be…"

* * *

Danny waved goodbye to Sam and Tucker as they each split towards their respective homes. School had been its usual monotonous pain in the neck as Lancer droned on about Shakespeare and Danny continued to watch Raimee like a hawk. Unfortunately, nothing out of the ordinary happened and the new ghost didn't show up even once. Most of the time he would take this as a sign that he was overreacting—as Jazz and his friends insisted—but there was something about the new girl that really bothered him. It was like a prickling on the back of his neck, an instinctual warning that reminded him vaguely of his ghost sense.

Sighing heavily to himself, Danny trudged up the stairs to his home. Whatever it was that made Raimee so odd would have to wait for now. He was grounded and that meant going straight to his room and doing homework (while secretly talking to Sam and Tucker on the computer if he was lucky). With a shove, Danny opened the door and walked in his house only to freeze mid-step.

On a chair where their mysteriously missing couch usually stood sat Vlad Masters. Danny gaped at his archenemy who was chatting away with Maddie as she was working on one of the Fenton Bazookas. Both looked up at his noisy entrance.

"Danny! How was your day?" Maddie asked cheerfully.

"Um…okay," Danny replied, staring at Vlad. _Until now_, he silently added. _Why does he always pop up out of nowhere?!_

"Ah, Daniel, so nice of you to join us," Vlad greeted him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Danny, be nice," Maddie warned him, pulling out a new tangle of wires and slowly separating them.

"It's perfectly fine, Maddie. My visit is a bit of a surprise," Vlad said jovially. "I just happen to have a business deal in town and I have to visit my favorite ghost-hunting family while I'm here."

"Of course," Danny muttered, well aware that Vlad would hear the remark. The older halfa smirked.

"It's not like I've come to tear your family apart, dear boy!" He chuckled and Maddie quickly joined in. Danny narrowed his eyes, frowning, but he knew he couldn't say anything right there with his mom in the room. Sending a mistrustful glare towards Vlad he started up the stairs.

_I hate it when he does that_, Danny thought heatedly. _Just gives away his plans because he thinks I can't do anything about it. Well we'll see about that!_ He entered his messy room and dropped his backpack on his bed. He pulled out his Fenton Thermos from the bag, pausing. With a devious grin he shook it a few times. Sure, the Box Ghost, Technus, and other ghosts currently within it weren't the cause of his frustration but a little misplaced aggression went a **long** ways.

He left his room and retraced his steps down the stairs and into the living room. His mom had disappeared and he guessed that meant she was in the kitchen. Sending another suspicious frown at Vlad, who only sneered in response, Danny turned towards the kitchen. There was no point asking what he was up to when he had already stated it before. He continued to jiggle the thermos from side to side, imagining that Vlad was the one trapped inside it, when the older halfa spoke up.

"Fond of soup, Daniel?" Pausing in the entrance to the kitchen, Danny rolled his eyes. So much for ignoring him.

"Not really. I was about to dump it," he replied shortly, then smiling he added, "Too much pork and long-winded speeches for my taste." Vlad stood and walked over to Danny who slipped into a defensive position.

"Calm down. I'm not here to play your little games," he said dismissively.

"Yeah right; you're up to something," Danny snapped back.

"Contrary to what your teenage ego likes to think, not all of my matters concern you."

"If they concern my family they do!" Vlad smirked and snatched the thermos out of Danny's hands faster than he could react.

"I'll be taking this," he said.

"Hey! Give that back!"

"What's going on?" Both halfas froze as Maddie closed the lab door behind her, a quizzical expression on her face.

"Oh nothing. Just asking young Daniel here if he should be playing with your ghost-hunting weapons when he could be doing his homework," Vlad answered her smoothly.

"But the thermos…" Danny struggled to come up with an excuse for why he needed the thermos that didn't actually involve ghost-hunting.

"Danny, you know you shouldn't play around with our technology, especially if we haven't trained you yet," Maddie reprimanded him. Danny stifled an eye roll at the irony. "Besides, Vlad's right, you need to go do your homework. You're still grounded remember."

"But I—"

"No buts. I've had enough of those today already," Maddie stated firmly.

"Okay," Danny grumbled, scowling at Vlad who was smiling triumphantly. He spun around and marched up the stairs to his room, fully intending to tell Sam and Tucker about this latest development in his chaotic life. _I'll figure out what he's up to somehow, him and Raimee __**both**__. _

* * *

The stars shone brightly among the wispy clouds that wandered around the sky. Among them, the moon was almost full and its white light bathed the city below. Danny sighed, stretching his arms above his head as he took in the peaceful view. Everything felt calmer at this time of night, especially when he could enjoy it from high up in the sky away from all his troubles—at least all the non-ghostly kind. There was still his nightly patrol to do. Grinning, he did a flip in the air and started his usual route around the city.

Though he was grounded—and his parents would kill him if they knew he was out right now—Danny just **had** to leave his house for a few hours. Vlad had stayed over Friday night and had stuck around the whole next day, constantly taunting Danny and making cracks about his dad. It had made him so angry at one point, he had almost blasted Vlad while his mom was in the room! Luckily, Jazz had interfered and had guided the conversation to safer ground before either halfa made a move they would later regret.

The most annoying part of it all was that Vlad kept mentioning that he was there on a business trip, yet he never left the house **once**. Danny knew it had to be a cover up for his true intentions and whatever they were wouldn't be good for his family. Vlad had said it flat out; he was there to mess with his parents. Again. But what could Danny do until Vlad made his first move? Unless of course he already did and he hadn't noticed it yet…

Growling in frustration, Danny picked up speed and raced across the night sky. After the rush of ghosts this past week, things had finally started to slow down…if you didn't count his arch enemy living in his house or the strange new ghost at school. Danny rolled his eyes. Life just loved throwing everything at him at once.

_Speaking of ghosts, _he thought as a flash of red light below caught his attention. His breath misted in front of him and Danny smirked. _Hello misplaced aggression…_which was something he seemed to have a lot of lately. He dived into the trees of the city park where he had seen the ectoplasmic ray and searched for the source. The sound of ecto-blasts meeting wood and dirt along with muffled grunts led him to a clearing where the wishing fountain stood. There, above the splashing water was the ghost girl from school.

She had her back turned to Danny, oblivious to him watching her systematically destroy a tree with ruby red energy that sparked and sizzled from her fingertips and palms. She was muttering under her breath and he was only able to catch the words, "stupid aura" before she abruptly turned around and met his gaze. Her annoyed expression instantly melted into a predatory smile.

"Ghost dude!" she called to him, red energy crackling in her hands. "So you **do** appear in other places than the school. I was starting to wonder if you died there and were stuck."

"My **name** is Danny Phantom and yeah, I go everywhere," he replied, crossing his arms. "What's the matter with you? Got a problem with trees? Don't tell me one of them killed **you**." Her eyes flickered to the crumbling oak before looking back at him.

"Nah, it took a lot more than that to take me down! I just needed a punching bag." Danny couldn't help but smirk at the idea of Sam seeing what the ghost was doing. She'd flip and demand that Danny fight just to protect the innocent trees.

"So you decided on a tree?"

"What else is there to fight here? A girl's gotta practice!" Suddenly the ghost smiled, her eyes narrowing. "Of course a sparring partner is **always** better…" Danny instantly caught her drift. Good thing he brought a thermos along.

"Battle junky?" he joked.

"Completely," the girl answered, pulling her fists into a fighting position. "You?" He shrugged.

"Comes with the job," he said.

"Then show me whatchya got, dude!" She rocketed forward and Danny was forced to drop below her, surprised by her sudden speed. Icy green energy sparked to life around his hands and he shot off several ecto-blasts at her exposed abdomen. She turned intangible and responded in kind, showering him in red ectoplasm. Danny dodged the attack, hissing as a stray blast glanced off his shoulder.

"So, why are you here anyway?" Danny called out, diving below another ray of ecto energy and sending two of his own towards where the girl floated above.

"What? I can't check out a new town once in a while?" she called back, evading the attack and his question easily.

"Not if you're causing trouble," Danny flew up until he was even with her. She placed her hands on her hips.

"What's wrong with a little chaos? It makes everything better."

"Not for those that have to deal with it."

"Tch, why deal? Go along with the ride and watch everyone else freak out! That's what makes chaos fun," she grinned.

"So what, you're the ghost of chaos?" Danny quipped with a smirk of his own.

"You've got it ghost dude! It's my name, game, and claim to fame!"

"Catchy," he commented, charging up his energy and jumping forward to attack. "But do you have something to back up that big mouth?" Chaos scowled, throwing up a shield at the last second. Danny bounced off it, tumbling over in the air until he could right himself.

"Who you calling big mouth, dude? I've seen you fly around here like you own the place!"

"That's because I'm protecting this town from ghosts like you!" Danny threw a condensed sphere of ectoplasm at Chaos who dived under the blast.

"Hey, I haven't done anything yet! I'm just here to kill some time," Chaos snapped back. "So how 'bout you get a little taste of my power with my Chaos Sparks!" Her fingertips glowed red and she flung out her hands, sending the small sparks racing towards Danny. He ducked under the swarm and flew closer to his opponent, laughing

"What? That's all you got? Doesn't look very chaotic to me!" Her smile returned.

"Sometimes the best kind of chaos is the subtle kind," she replied. "Have fun with them and I'll catch you later, ghost dude!" She twisted around in the air and disappeared into the sky.

"Have fun with…?" he wondered out loud when the hairs on the back of his neck rose up. Turning around, he gasped and took off at full speed. "Oh crud!" The sparks had turned in mid air like mini boomerangs and were now heading straight for him!

Danny twisted his body up and flipped over before diving for the ground, hoping to shake off the pinpoints of energy. The red swarm of lights continued to follow him so he phased through the grass below. He floated through the dirt for a few feet and then jumped out, turning around to see if that did the trick. He groaned as the sparks flocked toward him.

"Aw come on!" he griped, pulling more emerald energy into his fists. He sent a volley of blasts at the sparks. The two energies met and for a second Danny thought that they had cancelled each other out. Instead the ectoplasm seemed to explode on impact, sending Danny soaring through the air and into the trees.

Caught unprepared, he didn't turn intangible in time. Tree branches and leaves slapped and snapped around him, scraping up his arms and face. He finally managed to stop his momentum, but moaned as his exposed skin stung painfully.

"Oww…" Danny floated up and glanced around for any sign of more deadly red lights. Then he examined his newest wounds. "Most of these should heal within a day, but this one…" He softly prodded at a large cut across his left forearm, wincing.

"Yeah, that's gonna take some explaining." Danny sighed and cautiously looked around before taking off. "But first, finish my patrol, maybe catch that Chaos ghost, and go home."

* * *

The door to the Fenton's basement lab opened with a low creak that Vlad knew was too quiet to wake up any of the sleeping family members above. He descended the stairs quickly, holding the thermos he had taken from Danny the day before in one hand. At the bottom, he switched on the lights and scanned the lab for any unwanted company.

As soon as he was sure the room was deserted, he transformed into his ghost half. Then, he twisted the cap off the thermos and ejected its contents. The Box Ghost, Technus, the remains of some large ghost animal, and a flock of glowing birds spilled out onto the lab floor. Before the specters could reorient themselves, he grabbed one of the working Fenton bazookas on a nearby desk and pegged each ghost in the room except for one.

"Technus," he greeted calmly, letting the gun drop back onto the desk with a clatter. The technological ghost shook his head a little and faced the halfa.

"That whippersnapper thwarted my plans yet **again**! I shall make him pay for—"

"—And you will," Vlad interrupted him, effectively cutting off what was sure to be an hour long rant. "In fact, I have a proposal to make."

"What's this? You want to make a deal with **me**, Technus? What could you have that I could possibly want!"

"Perhaps a few moments **not** resting inside one of the boy's thermoses for starters," Vlad tersely replied, already losing patience with the ghost. "I need someone to mess with the Fenton's weaponry when it is around Jack Fenton. Though I can do this myself, I have other matters of concern. Are you willing to do that for me?"

"And what would **I** get out of it?" Technus asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Oh I'm sure an arrangement can be reached if you manage to pull this off."

"I, Technus, master of all electronics, am **of course** able to perform such a simple request!"

"Then I will ensure that you are rewarded," Vlad promised him. "Make sure they only malfunction around the oaf and not anyone else. Also, do not let Daniel sense you or the deal is off."

"That will be difficult when I am in his own house," Technus commented, finally being direct at the prospect of a reward. Vlad's lip curled as two dark rings of light burst to life around him.

"Oh I'll keep him thoroughly distracted."

* * *

Danny phased through his front door and quietly dropped to the floor. He listened carefully to the darkened house for a few moments, waiting to see if everyone was asleep. When all he could hear were the distant rumbles of his dad's snoring and the ticking of a clock on the wall, he finally relaxed.

"Whew, no angry lectures tonight," he whispered in relief. He glanced down at the cut on his arm, grimacing as it continued to bleed slowly. "And no awkward questions either." With a sigh, he let himself transform back into his human half, wondering how quickly he could clean himself up and get to bed.

Just as he turned towards the stairs, his mind fully occupied by the thought of sleep, the scrapping of a swinging door alerted him to a presence in the kitchen. Danny froze as the slim figure of Vlad appeared in the living room, his profile outlined by the glow of the appliances behind him.

"What were you doing down there?" Danny hissed, his eyes glowing green. Vlad paused, slight surprise showing on his now lit face. A sly smile quickly replaced it as his blue eyes swept over Danny's scratched up arms and messy hair.

"Sneaking out while we're grounded?" Vlad countered, sidestepping the question. Danny narrowed his eyes, changing into his ghost half again. With his focus completely on Vlad, he didn't notice the cold mist escaping from his mouth.

"Only to catch ghosts like you," he whispered fiercely.

"Are you going to fight me right here in your own house?" Vlad sauntered closer to where he stood. Danny scowled, but he didn't attack. Fighting the older halfa now could easily wake his family up and make a whole mess of trouble for him. But…at the same time he would like to actually **fight** someone since his search for Chaos or any other ghosts tonight had proved fruitless. And Vlad had **really** been asking for today.

"You know what? **Yeah**, I am!" Danny lunged at Vlad, who turned intangible, sending the teen crashing into the floor behind him.

"Oh please, Daniel, you call that an attack?" Vlad mocked, transforming into Plasmius. Danny growled under his breath, ignoring the shiver that slid down his spine. He jumped up, his hands glowing, and swung at the older halfa again.

"Maybe that's all I need to defeat **you**!" he replied as he slammed one fist towards Plasmius, who blocked it with a cupped hand. They exchanged several blows, each of Danny's attacks blocked by his opponent. Just as Danny decided to resort to an actual ecto-blast, Vlad grabbed both of his fists and tossed him into the wall. Stunned by the impact, Danny paused and shook his head to clear his vision.

"I wouldn't use your little ecto-ray inside, Daniel. You'll wake up your parents," Plasmius warned him, smirking. "And then they would know about your little outing tonight…" The threat hung in the air and Danny grimaced. His parents would be furious.

He glanced to his left, up the stairs, where his parent's room was, torn between finishing the fight and leaving it for tomorrow. Something on the wall caught his eye, distracting him. It was the button to the Fenton Emergency system! Danny grinned as a plan quickly formed in his head. He turned back to where Plasmius floated.

"Not unless I do this!" Danny smashed his hand into the glass surrounding the button, two white rings quickly reverting him back to his safer human side. Sirens blasted to life above them and flashing lights cast a red glow across the room. Vlad looked up in alarm as two mechanical arms ending in neon green claws shot from the walls. He avoided one of them only to be caught by the other, which promptly threw him across the room.

Danny couldn't help but laugh at the shocked expression on Plasmius's face as a group of ecto-guns dropped from the ceiling and aimed at him. His chuckles disappeared as Vlad sent a barrage of ecto-blasts at the guns. A few flew towards Danny and he threw his hands over his head instinctively. Fortunately, a giant translucent shield in the shape of Jack Fenton's head popped up from the ground in front of him, blocking the attack.

"Danny!" Maddie and Jack were practically falling down the stairs in their attempt to reach their son. Danny hid a smile behind a fake look of terror.

"Mom! Dad! The Wisconsin ghost attacked me!" he cried, pointing at where Plasmius was struggling against one of the giant claws.

"**What**!? The Wisconsin ghost!?" His parents turned towards Vlad only to see him destroy the claw with a surge of ectoplasmic energy. As soon as he broke free, he phased through the nearest wall. The sirens and flashing lights abruptly stopped as the ghostly threat disappeared.

"Danny!" Maddie threw her arms around her son. "Are you all right? Did the ghost do anything to you? Why was he here? Why were you downstairs? Wha—"

"**Mom**! I'm okay!" he reassured her. "I…I was just getting a drink of water when he suddenly appeared in…uh…the kitchen. So then I activated the emergency system." Danny was glad his hesitations would sound like distress instead of lies.

"That's my boy! Send that evil ghost packing! Serves him right for trying to get a Fenton in his own house!" Jack boasted happily, pounding Danny on the back. "You make your old man proud!"

"Uh, thanks Dad," Danny said, wincing slightly. His mom noticed his grimace and she quickly examined him for injuries. When she spotted his arm, she gasped.

"Danny, your **arm**!" He looked down to see that the long cut from his stint with the Chaos Sparks was now one of the many down his left arm. It took him a moment to realize that the new ones were made by breaking the glass box that protected the button.

"Oh, uh…I didn't think to use the hammer," Danny explained, not needing to act out his surprise. They weren't horribly painful, but the blood made it look a lot worse than it felt.

"We'll need to clean this up right away," Maddie told him. "Let's get the first aid kit." Danny followed his mom towards the kitchen. It was amazing how well his plan had worked out. Not only did his parents not find out that he was out on patrol, but Vlad was beaten without Danny even touching him! And now he wouldn't even have to make excuses for his original injuries.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" his mother questioned as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"No," he answered, grateful for the chance to finally rest. He yawned widely.

"Don't you worry, son," Jack said confidently as he entered the room. "That Wisconsin ghost is long gone and he won't bother you ever again!" Danny smiled but it faded quickly. He knew that Vlad was probably back in the guest bedroom already. The house may be able to keep Plasmius out, but nothing prevented Vlad Masters from staying there.

"I sure hope so," Danny murmured as his mother brought out a bottle of rubbing alcohol. _But I doubt it._

* * *

**Dizgirl: **Ho ho ho! And doubt he should! Heh...please tell me if I made any mistakes in here!

Related to this lovely fic, I have some pictures I've made of the characters on deviantart. The links are below! Technically the second has a spoiler for an idea I have for a sequel to this (I know, I know. I'm thinking WAY ahead...) but it does show you all my OCs in this fic too! Remember to remove the spaces please. Oh and check out my profile for some future DP fic ideas I have (yes, more wistful thinking). I want to know whatchya think!

http: /dizappearingirl. deviantart. com/art/PGT-Entry-Pictures-78622959

http: /dizappearingirl. deviantart. com/art/MMFC-Facemaker-Style-84969513


	9. A Dash of Ghostly Chaos

**Dizgirl: **So yeah…didn't update this as often as I had hoped. Sorry about that. I hope this chapter makes up for it 'cause it's one of my favorites. I mean, a LOT happens in this one. Plenty of stuff… So, enjoy and love peeps!

* * *

**A Dash of Ghostly Chaos**

"Raimee?" Brian Perkings called as he knocked on her door softly. It had been two hours since she had locked herself in her room. He hoped that qualified as enough alone time before he could make an appearance and not be met with more tears and yelling.

"Raimee? Can I come in?" He listened closely for a muffled reply, but froze as an unfamiliar sensation swept over him. It was unlike anything he had experienced before. He could…**feel** like there was something cold in his daughter's room, but how he felt that he didn't know. He stood there, baffled by the strange feeling when suddenly the door opened.

"Dad, I said that you could come in," Raimee told him with muted impatience. Brian shook himself at her words, noticing quickly that the feeling had disappeared.

"Sorry, I just…uh, couldn't hear you," he replied, smiling to cover up his bewilderment. "Can we talk?" Raimee bit her lip and looked down at the floor.

"Sure, Dad." She swung her door open to allow him in. He grabbed her desk chair and she sat down at the end of her bed. Both were silent for a few minutes, looking at anything but each other. Finally, with a cough to clear his throat, Brian began.

"Raimee, you know the only reason I am so…hard on you about the ghost stuff is because I want to protect you from what happened to your mom." Raimee sighed and nodded.

"I know," she mumbled.

"And it's not that I want you to, er, ignore your gift because that **is** something from your mom and…it's just that ghosts are dangerous. You need to be careful."

"I **am**." Brian nodded, smiling briefly at Raimee's indignation.

"This is true. I'm just concerned that you might at some point decide that learning about ghosts isn't enough. If you decide to become a phan—" his lecture broke off as Brian felt the same chilling sensation again, this time coming from outside the room. He jerked his head in that direction, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Just her window and the skyline of Amity Park.

"Dad? Are you okay?" He turned back to see Raimee looking at him with concern.

"Oh, of course," he assured her, running his hand through his hair. What was happening to him? But he couldn't ponder that now when he was talking to his daughter. Brian tried to refocus on their conversation.

"Uh…right. I just want you to tell me you won't get mixed up in all the paranormal things that are happening here in Amity Park."

"What if I can't help it?" she asked seriously.

"Just try your best," he said. "And that means **not** to go looking for it, like you did back in Chicago." Raimee opened her mouth to argue, but then shut it quickly.

"Okay," she agreed. With that answer, he sighed in relief. Daddy-daughter talks were definitely not his forte. Their strained relationship, especially for the past few weeks, was proof of that.

"Good…" Brian scrambled to come up with something to take their minds off the tense afternoon. "What do you say to going out for dinner?"

* * *

Laughter echoed off the brick shops lining the street as Danny, Sam, and Tucker slowly walked towards Casper High. Danny, grinning broadly as his friends fought to stay standing, continued with his story.

"So **then** my parents start describing how they'd rip Plasmius apart—you know, molecule by molecule—if he ever came near me again!"

"Too bad Vlad didn't come down and hear them," Sam said, chuckling. "I would have **loved** to see his expression!"

"That would be priceless!" Tucker agreed.

"Yeah…it was great…" Danny trailed off as they approached the school grounds, catching sight of Raimee as she walked passed the emptying buses. He frowned, his frustration from last week resurfacing. Now he didn't just have to keep an eye on her but on Vlad and that ghost Chaos too! "Speaking of ghost stuff…"

"Danny," Sam sighed, seeing that he was watching Raimee. "Will you drop your Raimee-is-connected-to-ghosts theory already?"

"Not until I get proof that she and Chaos **aren't** connected!"

"Wait, who's Chaos?" Tucker asked. Danny paused as he realized he hadn't told his two friends about his encounter with her on Saturday night. He had completely forgotten about it after the whole Vlad incident.

But even if he hadn't, he wouldn't have had the chance to go on his computer since his parents were constantly checking in on him. He wasn't sure if it was because of his injuries (already healed, but he still wore the bandages to hide that fact) or because a ghost had attacked their son in their own home and they refused to let that happen again. This would normally be a nice change from their usual obliviousness, but the fact that Vlad was able to freely move about their house while they searched for the "Wisconsin Ghost" was too ironic for comfort.

"Chaos is that new ghost I've been telling you about," Danny answered, pushing his agitated thoughts of Vlad aside. "The one who was picking on the Box Ghost and was also in the computer lab last week…. I fought her the same night as Vlad."

"So, did you get her?" Sam inquired as the trio went through the front doors of the school.

"No. She did this weird attack she called 'Chaos Sparks' and disappeared before I could pull out my thermos." Danny sighed heavily. "I seem to be missing ghosts a lot lately."

"I'm sure you'll get her next time," she reassured him. "But…what does she have to do with Raimee?"

"Well, like I was telling you guys earlier, she shows up and suddenly this Chaos ghost does too. Don't you find that a little fishy?"

"It's just a coincidence, dude," Tucker said. The three stopped near their first class, squeezing against the wall to avoid the students bustling through the hallway.

"What about all the times I sensed a ghost around Raimee? Half the time, it turned out to be Chaos," Danny countered, frowning at the unconvinced stares of his friends. "Come **on** guys!"

"So what would've happened if this ghost had showed up before Raimee did? Would you still suspect her?" Sam argued. "This is just like the whole Gregor thing; you automatically started suspecting him just because the Guys in White showed up at the same time."

"Fine," Danny scowled. "Maybe she isn't involved with Chaos, but she's definitely doing **something** ghostly. I'm telling you, there's something **weird** about Raimee. I just get this weird feeling around her. And what about the whole sign thing?"

"What sign thing?" Tucker asked. "You mean the one out front? It got knocked down in the fight with Technus, right?"

"Yeah, as Raimee stood right **below** it." Both friends exchanged looks of confusion.

"Wait, what?" Danny smiled, pleased to finally get the response he wanted.

"She was standing right below it, and it was too fast for me to save her, but she was just fine!"

"Did she jump out of the way?" Sam asked, crossing her arms.

"It was falling too fast," Danny repeated. "But she was okay. Instead, she just started asking questions about Technus."

"Okay, that **is** a little strange," she agreed.

"Thank you!" Danny exclaimed just as the bell rang for first hour. Sam raised one finger in warning.

"But that doesn't mean you're right; it just means that you **could** be."

"I'll take anything at this point," Danny replied, still smiling, as they followed their classmates into the health class.

* * *

'_It was the weirdest thing ever!'_

'_It wasn't __**that**__ weird,'_ Raimee objected with a roll of her eyes, exiting the school cafeteria.

'_No seriously. It was like he was looking right __**at**__ me! It was…'_ Chaos trailed off as she searched for the right word. _'Actually, it was kinda annoying.'_

'_He can't see you; you were invisible the whole time,'_ Raimee assured her._ 'By the way, the prank you pulled on the waitress was __**not**__ funny.' _Chaos snickered heartily, and Raimee tried her best not to smile in response.

'_**That**__ was priceless.'_

'_That poor girl…'_ Raimee sympathized, weaving through the crowded hallway towards her locker.

'_Aw, she'll be just fine,'_ Chaos thought before returning to her original topic. _'The thing with your dad though...If I didn't know better, I'd think he was __**sensing**__ me.'_

'_But he can't do that.' _

'_Then how do you explain how he __**looked**__ right __**at**__ me?'_

'_I think—' _Raimee was interrupted as a guy in the hall bumped into her, sending her armful of books and herself tumbling to the floor_. 'Oh crap!'_

"Oh, sorry," he mumbled, helping her gather her books.

"No problem," she said, straightening up with a shaky smile. "I wasn't paying attention. Monday's will do that to you. You know, not enough weekend and too much week…" He shrugged and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Raimee blushing at her random prattling.

'_Clumsy much?'_ Chaos joked. _'Unless __**he**__ hit __**you**__. Then, do you want me to get him?'_

'_No no, it was my fault,' _Raimee continued on her way down the hall, her cheeks still glowing pink. _'Anyways, uh, where were we?'_

'_Your dad seeing me now.' _Raimee sighed heavily as she reached her locker.

'_He didn't __**see**__ you. He doesn't have the gift. I just think that he was nervous. You know, all that daddy-daughter bonding time he likes __**so**__ much.' _

'_Uh huh…you weren't much help either. You guys are so quiet all the time!'_ Chaos shuddered inside her friend.

'_Hey, we don't need to fill every silence with chatter like you. Besides, I though it was nice.' _

'_Yeah yeah, it was nice…for the first day. Then it just got boring. If it wasn't for that meeting with the ghost dude Saturday night, I would've died from boredom!' _Chaos moaned.

'_First of all, you're already dead. Second, the weekend was __**not**__ boring. And third, you never really told me about meeting this Danny Phantom, except for the fact that you had,' _Raimee rattled off as she opened her locker and put away her textbooks from her morning classes.

'_What's to tell? We met, we talked, we fought…sorta, and then I left! I was in the middle of my training and he interrupted it. Any other time I would've been fine, but not when I'm in the middle of training!'_ Chaos ranted. _'Is it so much to ask for him to fight me on __**my**__ time…like now?' _

'_I doubt he's going to fight when __**you**__ want to,_' Raimee thought. _'But I'm surprised you were upset that he showed up; you've been obsessed with fighting him for the past week!' _

'_Yeah, well I was busy,' _Chaos defended herself_. _

'_And when did you start training anyways?' _

'_A while back.' _

'_Usually you avoid any type of work unless it's dealing with fighting…what are you doing?' _

'_Don't worry about it. I'll show you someday when I've figured it out,' _Chaos answered. Raimee pressed her lips together as she pulled out what books she would need for the afternoon.

'_Chaos…if this is what you were doing in Madison…' _she warned.

'_Don't worry about it,'_ Chaos repeated.

'_That's what you said the day that Plasmius found us!' _

'_I'm being more careful this time!' _

"Hey new girl!" The two girls froze at the voice, abruptly remembering that they were in the middle of school. When she recognized the arrogant tone that demanded her attention, Raimee wilted slightly. Turning around reluctantly she came face to face with Dash Baxter who was accompanied by several of his equally big-headed teammates.

"What do you want?" she asked as civilly as she could, silently dreading what the bullying jock had in mind. It was enough that she was arguing with Chaos, did she have to add Dash to the list as well? He smirked, his blue eyes casually taking in her disheveled appearance from her earlier fall.

"I hear you're pretty smart," he answered, crossing his arms.

'_She's as smart as you are idiotic_,' Chaos muttered as she adjusted her position inside Raimee.

'_Shush! I can't talk to __**both**__ of you right now!'_ Raimee hissed before returning her attention to Dash.

"Yes I am. So what?" she ran a hand through her hair in an attempt to appear composed despite the sudden rush of adrenaline pumping through her veins. Dash looked at his fellow jocks with incredulous amusement.

"So I was thinking you could **tutor** me," he replied, his eyes remaining chilly while he grinned. "You know, like Mikey does." A small boy in glasses peered out from behind the other football players who were snickering quietly.

"And how does Mikey tutor you?" Raimee inquired, narrowing her eyes guardedly. More snickering.

"Well you do my homework while I don't pummel your face in!" Dash smacked a fist into his other hand.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now," Raimee said in a tightly controlled voice, ignoring Chaos's murmured threats of attacking 'Mr. Jerk-Jock'. "I'm still trying to catch up myself, besides I'm not that good of a tutor." Immediately she could tell that she had said the wrong thing—not that she was too surprised. Dash's face hardened subtly and his friends fell silent, watching him expectedly.

"Well it doesn't really matter what you think 'cause you don't have much choice," he threatened. Raimee's forehead wrinkled in dislike as he leaned in closer to her. She took a step back, bumping into her open locker. Despite what Sam had said about him lacking in brains, he definitely made up for it in muscle. She didn't have a chance of winning any sort of physical confrontation with him if it came down to it. Instead, she'd have to rely on her wit

She was doomed.

"Look, I can't really help you with anything. I told you, I'm not a good tutor!" Raimee stammered, clutching her books in front of her like a shield.

'_Let me at him __**please**__! I'll totally go easy on him 'cause he's a human!' _Chaos whined inside her head.

'_No! You'll cause a scene!'_ Raimee warned her.

'_Yeah and save your butt!'_

'_I said no!'_

'_Tch! You're as bad as your dad! __**He**__ won't let you go near ghosts and __**you **__won't let me near humans!'_ Raimee closed her eyes, trying to block out Chaos's continued protests.

"Hey! Are you listening to me?" Dash questioned her, his face reddening from her lack of response. Raimee stood up straighter and looked him in the eye.

"Yes and it would be nice if you backed off a bit," she responded, letting her irritation towards both him and Chaos get the better of her. "I said no and that's final." His expression changed from barely concealed aggression to open hostility.

"No one says no to Dash Baxter!" he proclaimed, grabbing her by the shirt and shoving her into the lockers. Raimee cringed as the metal stabbed her back painfully. _'Owww!'_ she moaned silently.

'_That's it! I'm taking over Ray!'_ Chaos thought, shifting inside her.

'_No Chaos! You can't…!'_ But Raimee could already feel the familiar fogginess that accompanied ghostly possession, her thoughts and feelings swirled away before she could try to stop it. Outside her body glowed faintly, but it went unnoticed by the jocks and small crowd of people that were pausing to watch the scene unfold. 'Raimee' grabbed onto Dash's arm and looked up, sneering.

"I thought I said **back off**!" Twisting his arm, she broke his grip and pushed him back with her other shoulder. Stunned, he stumbled back into his teammates who scrambled to support his weight. 'Raimee' watched him with one eyebrow quirked up and her arms folded, having dropped her books carelessly. Growling, Dash leaped at her but she ducked and lunged forward, slamming him into the lockers on the other side of the hallway. Students scattered, breaking out into screams of alarm and indignation as the two moved past them. One hand at his throat, 'Raimee' smiled wickedly.

"So how 'bout we try that again," she said sweetly, her green eyes suddenly glowing crimson. "You leave me alone and I won't pummel **your** face in!" Dash's eyes widened in shock and he whimpered as he nodded. Still smirking, she let him go and watched him disappear into the circle of students around her, followed by his friends. 'Raimee' glanced around at the teens gaping at her.

"What do **you** want?" Her eyes flashed red again. Instantly the mob dissolved into groups of students who quickly left for their next class, chatting excitedly about the new girl taking on the football star.

'_Now __**that's**__ how you handle a bully,'_ Chaos thought with satisfaction. _'You can have the reins again, Ray.'_ She let go of her hold on Raimee and waited for her friend to resurface.

'_CHAOS! What did you do!?' _Raimee screeched inside her head as soon as she regained control. Stopping abruptly, she gently tested her shoulders muscles and cringed. _'And __**why**__ do I feel like I've been hit by a linebacker?!'_

'_Well, I think he's actually a quarterback but who cares? I still got him,'_ Chaos replied offhandedly.

'_You hit Dash!?' _Raimee moaned out loud and stooped to pick up her books. _'Chaos! How __**could**__ you? I told you to leave him alone!' _Chaos snorted.

'_Like how he was gonna leave you alone? Yeah, I don't think so.'_

'_It doesn't matter. Oh, who knows who saw that! The stories will be flying everywhere. It might even go all the way back to Wisconsin and then Plasmius will find out and come and try to get you again! And how am I going to explain this to Dad!? He's going to think I'm involved with ghosts again!' _Raimee closed her eyes and rested her head against her locker door.

'_Well you are aren't you?'_ Chaos asked, sounding slightly miffed. _'Last time I checked I was still a ghost.' _Raimee rolled her eyes.

'_Duh, but I don't want __**him**__ to know!'_

'_I think you're blowing this out of proportion,' _Chaos said calmly.

'_And __**you**__ aren't taking it seriously! I've told you before, that Plasmius ghost meant serious business. What happens when the story spreads that I beat up Dash, huh?! He'll find out! He knew about me and you, didn't he? And how will I explain what I did to Dash…which by the way what __**did**__ 'I' do to him?'_

'_Tch, hardly anything! The dude's a wimp I tell ya. I was totally ready to kick his butt and he had to go and run for it!' _Chaos defended herself with casual annoyance._ 'One hit to the gut and a few threats and he practically fainted!' _Raimee about fainted herself at her friend's words.

'_One hit to the gut and a few threats—not a problem! Surely not going to send stories going freaking __**everywhere**__!!'_ she thought hysterically. _'You're the ghost of chaos and I understand that but could you have ruined our cover just a little more completely!?'_

'_Hmmm…yes. I really think I could have.'_

'_Now is not the time for sarcastic honesty or whatever!' _Raimee growled.

'_Okay okay! I'm __**sorry**__, alright? Calm down!' _Chaos sighed exasperatedly as Raimee turned from her locker and tried to keep her breathing under control. The bell rang and she reluctantly headed for class, hugging her books to her chest.

'_Now, don't go biting my head off,'_ Chaos continued, _'but I think we'll be okay.' _

'_Cha—'_

'—_**Listen**__! Plasmius is all the way in Wisconsin. Why would news of a fight at some small city high school—'_

'—_A __**weird**__ fight,' _Raimee interjected crossly.

'_Whatever! Why would a story like that reach him when he's so far away? And why would he __**care**__ anyways? He's not gonna know it's __**us**__.'_ Raimee exhaled slowly, pausing outside of her classroom.

'_Come on!'_ Chaos persisted. _'He wouldn't. We're safe and you know it.'_

'_Fine! From Plasmius at least, but not from people here,'_ Raimee snapped, scowling at the ground.

'_Y'know, I don't think they will find this __**that**__ weird compared to all the other paranormal stuff going on,'_ Chaos figuratively shrugged inside Raimee's body.

'_Maybe…__**probably**__, but I wouldn't know. __**I**__ was being possessed by a trigger-happy ghost ready to duke it out with a human!' _

'_Hey!' _Chaos complained.

'_But even if you're right,' _Raimee thought before Chaos could defend herself, following the last of her classmates into her fifth hour math class. _'You forgot one very important person.' _

'_What? Who's that?' _

'_My dad.' _

'_Oh.'_

'_He's going to __**kill**__ me if he hears about the fight,_' Raimee moaned mentally_. _

'_Um yeah, he probably is.' _

'_You are __**so**__ not helping,' _Raimee whined. _'And just as we were finally getting along…'_

'_Well maybe he won't hear about it. I mean, no teachers were involved,'_ Chaos suggested hopefully.

'_Not with your luck I won't.'_ Chaos ignored the insult and continued.

'_Plus, even if he does, I bet he'd believe your side of the story and not __**Dash's**__,'_ she spat out his name like a curse. _'And he doesn't know anything about me. I mean no one here does, right?' _Feeling slightly mollified, Raimee nodded as she pulled out her notebook.

'_Right.' _

* * *

"Did you hear about that new girl?" Danny paused as he grabbed his history textbook, listening curiously to the two girls standing behind him by the drinking fountains. If they were talking about Raimee, he wanted to hear it.

"What?"

"She got in a fight!" He twisted his head to the side, pretending to look idly down the hall as he concentrated on the conversation. Raimee in a fight…? Despite his suspicions, it was strange to imagine her actually getting into a fight—physical or verbal. This must be just some rumor started by a student jealous of Raimee's novelty and the popularity that came with it.

"No way! With who?" Danny sighed and picked up his backpack. A false lead…

"You'll never guess; it was Dash Baxter!" Danny jerked forward, shutting his locker door with a little more force than necessary. That didn't sound like a rumor. He slowly turned around and leaned casually against the locker wall, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Now he had to hear the whole story.

"Wow! What happened?"

"I don't know for sure 'cause I wasn't there, but my friend was and she said he was trying to get her to 'help him with homework.'" The two girls exchanged meaningful looks that Danny understood immediately. It looked like Dash had taken his advice to get a tutor a little too seriously. He frowned, guilt swirling in his stomach. So it was most likely a beating versus a fight.

"So…?" The one prodded the other girl to continue.

"So, she **snapped**! Or at least that's what everyone's saying. She knocked him over and then threw him across the hall! Then she threatened him and everyone else to leave her alone!" Danny struggled to maintain his indifferent appearance at these words. Raimee had fought back? And **won**?

"My friend said it was really scary. And you know what was the weirdest part?" The girl's voice lowered to a whisper. Danny unconsciously leaned in as her friend did too.

"What?" she asked breathlessly.

"Some people said her eyes were red and **glowing**!" He froze, his hidden hands clenching into fists.

"Wow…"

"Yeah, I **know**!" The two girls moved on, leaving a stunned Danny behind. He remained motionless against the wall as he tried to understand what he had just overheard. Raimee had fought against Dash, won the fight, and had glowing red eyes. It was pretty obvious what that meant, but he never thought he'd get this clear of an answer to his suspicions.

But there was no other way of looking at it; Raimee really was involved with ghosts, and now he had proof!

* * *

Brian Perkings was utterly confused. Not only had he been feeling random cold spots around him for the past three days, but whenever he looked to see what was causing them, he found nothing but air. The worst of it had been during the dinner Friday night with Raimee. He was almost positive the icy sensation was originating from a spot right behind his daughter's chair, but nothing was there! Had he completely lost his mind or was he getting some strange illness that was messing with his nerves?

Work, normally mundane but satisfying, was horrible when he went back Monday morning. He had tried to focus on his current project, but instead spent half the time looking for a concrete source for the unexpected chills that would send goose bumps up and down his arms and the feeling that something was **watching** him.

By lunch time he had had it. He left work with the cliché but accurate excuse that he didn't feel well. Incessant paranoia could definitely fall under "didn't feel well" he decided. Instead he would go home, take a nap, and relax for a few hours. Perhaps these strange feelings were his body's way of telling him he was too stressed. Wasn't that the truth!

As he drove home, his mind continued to work furiously on trying to solve the puzzle of the strange sensations. Everything would be normal, and then suddenly the temperature would drop and the hairs on the back of his neck would rise up. Then, he'd…sense that something was nearby, something that definitely was **not** normal but was too real to ignore. He couldn't see it or hear it, but it wasn't just a feeling either. There was no other way to describe it than as a completely different sense…

A sixth sense…?

Brian chuckled to himself as he parked his car. Now he was thinking about movies and the supernatural. His problem had nothing to do with that! He was just sick or stressed or quite possibly hallucinating. He couldn't possibly be "seeing dead people!" He shook his head and smiled wryly, making his way upstairs to his new home. No, nothing like…

He froze on the stairs as he realized what he was thinking. A 'sixth sense,' a feeling that something inhuman was nearby…a **ghost** sense…like Raimee and Gina's gift? It wasn't possible! He couldn't have that power! No, Gina had specifically told him that it was a genetic thing passed down in her family. Raimee got it because she was Gina's daughter, but **he** couldn't have it. He **shouldn't** have it, but…

What else could explain what he was feeling? The cold, the impression that someone was there, the fact that he couldn't **see** anything but felt it instead…all of these were things that his daughter and wife had used to describe their gift. In fact, Gina had once tried to explaining it to him after they had seen that very movie.

"_Well __The Sixth Sense__ isn't too off about one thing. Sensing ghosts—'dead people'—is like a sixth sense. It's kinda like seeing or hearing or feeling or maybe even smelling, but it's also different," she bit her lip and tilted her head to the side, a thing she did whenever she was thinking hard._

"_It's like all of those wrapped into one, and yet also just sorta this feeling like there's something there. It's cold usually, and once you get really good you can tell the difference in power levels. Sometimes, you can get __**so**__ good at it, you can recognize a ghost based purely on their…um, energy." Seeing his mystified expression, she chuckled quietly. _

"_Maybe you'll understand it someday." _

Yes, he finally did. But why did he suddenly have the gift now? Where did it come from? Brian finally made it into his apartment, contemplating those questions as he shut the front door behind him. Was it something he could've picked up from his daughter? Was that even possible?

And Raimee…should he tell her? Yes, that was given. She'd probably love the idea once she got past the shock. Wasn't she always telling him that he didn't understand her because he didn't have the gift too? That he was only being too hard on her, and ghosts in general, because he wasn't like her mom?

"_Forget it. It's not like __**you**__ understand."_

Brian rubbed his temples as he sunk into one of the kitchen chairs. But even with their gift, and he was almost positive now that he had some form of it, he still didn't understand. How could Raimee or Gina sense these cold 'spots' and think that something good and kind was floating behind them instead of some strange monster! He had been trying the better part of the past three days to **block** the sense from his mind. How could they instead seek out these ghosts and try to befriend them?

"_They are not pure evil! They're lost, or confused, or angry because of something that happened in their lives—that's what Mom said. She would agree with me if she was here!"_

Yes, Gina had believed full heartedly that ghosts were generally good. Being a phantomologist, had given her plenty of time to research the supernatural. But where others saw mindless destruction and unprovoked brutality, she saw loneliness from a life unfulfilled or confusion from a life violently ripped away. And he had believed that too until…

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he felt the now familiar sensation of a cold spot—two to be exact—just outside the kitchen window. Standing up, he peered out through the glass to see if he could catch sight of the specters that were flying by. The street below was empty but he could feel the ghosts floating a few feet from him. He shivered, frowning softly.

From the edge of his vision he saw Raimee appear at the corner and he realized with surprise that three hours had passed since he had left work. Had he really been **that** absorbed in his thoughts and memories? Well it was a shock to suddenly have an entirely new sense thrust upon him! He still didn't understand what had caused it, but at least he could discuss it with Raimee now that she was home.

He glanced down at his daughter again only to notice that one of the ghosts up by his window was moving. He struggled to follow the movement, and his heart skipped a beat as he realized where it was going. The ghost—the **monster**—was heading straight for Raimee!

"NO!"

* * *

Danny flew invisible high in the air above where Raimee walked. He knew that he'd get in trouble for not going straight home after school, but between his talk with Sam and Tucker this morning and the fight between Dash and Raimee, he had to at least **try** to find out what she was doing. He was positive now that she was involved with ghosts; he just didn't know in what way. If he found that out and took care of it, then that was one less problem for him to solve.

On top of that, he'd finally have the chance to give his friends and sister solid proof that what he had theorized was true. He had tried to convince them to join him on his stake out, but Sam and Tucker had their own versions of grounding for helping him with his patrol and Jazz was trying to "lead by example" by going straight home and working on her homework.

Rolling his eyes and suppressing a groan he turned his attention back to his target. Raimee turned down a street to her left and Danny flew ahead, twisting around in the air to see her face. He wanted proof so badly, but so far her walk had been completely uneventful. Where was the evidence he needed?

Frustrated, Danny muttered to himself, "I just wish I knew what she was hiding!" He froze as his ghost sense went off and ominous chuckling came from behind him.

**

* * *

**

**Dizgirl: **One of the first scenes I ever wrote for this story was the one with Dash and Chaos (titled "A Dash of Chaos"). I loved it from the beginning, so I hope it came across right. Why not tell me with that nice little button in the bottom corner?


	10. My Best Friend's A Ghost

**Dizgirl:** HAPPY NEW YEARS! Let's celebrate with the next chapter of Meet My Friend Chaos! YAY! Sorry you had to wait so long…and with a cliffhanger no less, but I hope this makes up for it! Enjoy and love! (Disclaimer's in my profile).

EDIT 1/2/09: WOW, I just realized there's a plot hole in this. ^^; Haha...I'll try to fix it but in the mean time, see if you can spot it! Maybe it's minor enough to leave alone. If so I won't bother. SO, tell me if you spot it!  
EDIT 1/14/10: Finally figured out how to fix the plot hole! YAY! (wow that took me a while...)

* * *

**My Best Friend's A Ghost**

'_You are just being picky. They practically mean the same thing!' _Raimee thought as she turned the corner onto the street where her home was.

'_There's a __**huge**__ difference between them!'_ Chaos argued back. _'Havoc is havoc, chaos is __**chaos**__!'_

'_Oh yes, a __**huge**__ difference…' _Raimee rolled her eyes, wondering silently how many times they had had this conversation before. She was pretty sure it was sitting around twenty six now._ 'Come on, you know you need a better reason than that.'_

'_Chaos is cooler!' _

'_Uh uh…not good enough.'_

'_Chaos comes first in the dictionary! Ha!' _Chaos declared, sounding very smug. Well that was a new one.

'_And that's considered better __**how**__?' _

'_Chaos always comes __**first**__!'_

'_I'm not grasping the 'coolness' of that,_' Raimee smiled, her tone teasing.

'_Tch, you just don't want to admit I won,_' Chaos sniffed.

'_What? In what possible way did you __**win**__? You haven't even given me a legitimate reason yet!' _

'_Just stop using havoc! It gets on my nerves!' _

'_Maybe I'll use it just to spite you—' _Raimee broke off as she felt two ghostly presences move into her sense's range. She focused on the two energies and pinpointed their position above her. '_Ghosts.' _

'_Where?'_ Chaos asked, dropping the argument.

'_Above me, kinda near our apartment,' _Raimee paused on the sidewalk, focusing on the energies. _'They're both fairly pow—'_ she cut off as one of them abruptly dove, heading straight for her. _'—And one is coming right towards us!'_

'_Wait, what?!' _Chaos jerked forward, trying to see through Raimee's eyes._ 'Invisible?' _Before Raimee could answer, the ghost in question materialized in midair, stopping just three feet in front of the girl. She grinned slyly, her red eyes glowing brightly against her green skin.

"So you have wished it, so shall it be!" she announced, waving her hand as pink energy sprung from it and collided with Raimee. The girl grabbed her chest and gasped as the hot light spread across her body.

'_Ray! Ray! What did she do?!'_ Chaos shouted within her, quickly feeling the unexpected heat from the ectoplasm. She squirmed away from it as best she could, but within Raimee she could only move so much. Raimee gritted her teeth as Chaos battled the energy, falling to her knees.

'_I don't…ah! This __**hurts**__!_' she groaned. The heat rose and the two friends mentally cried out. Something was pulling at them and they couldn't resist it, too overcome by the burning ectoplasm. Raimee wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to resist it.

'_What's happening?!'_

Then suddenly it was gone, leaving her feeling lightheaded. She sighed in relief, but stopped mid-exhale as the heat was replaced by a cool prickling. The sensation unnerved her; something felt off. She looked up and froze, her eyes widening in disbelief.

Chaos, her red eyes just as wide with shock and confusion as Raimee's, floated in front of her. The two stared at each other, feeling the tingling aftermath of the power that had separated them.

"How did I just…?" Chaos breathed. Raimee slowly shook her head.

"I…I don't know!"

* * *

"Raimee! Raimee!" Brian stumbled into the street in front of their home, quickly focusing on his daughter and the ghost that had appeared next to her. The specter's face was lit with glee as she encased Raimee in pink energy.

"NO! Get away from her!" he yelled, jumping forward. The ghost looked at him and vanished from sight, the grin never leaving her face. Without pausing to sense where she went, he returned his attention to his daughter.

Raimee was now on her knees, her face twisted up in a grimace. Panic overtook his thoughts as she clenched her teeth and moaned. What had that ghost done to her? The pink energy grew brighter. What was the energy doing to her right now? How could he stop it?! How could he save her?!

He lurched to a stop a few inches from her, reaching out his hands to grab her shoulders, but then he hesitated. What if he touched her and he was also overcome by pain? Then they'd both be incapacitated. Maybe he should call nine one one. Maybe he could—

The light surrounding Raimee shrunk and focused right in the middle of her chest. Before Brian could move, it burst out and congealed into a floating blob of ectoplasm in front of her. He jumped back as the form changed from pink to a mix of black and red that solidified into a human form. He gaped as he recognized what it was.

A ghost. A ghost had just appeared—had just **come out of** his daughter! His whole mind grounded to halt as he tried to process what that meant. Why was there a ghost inside Raimee?

"How did I just…?" the ghost gasped, staring at his daughter.

"I…I don't know!" Raimee answered, her eyes locking with the ghost's. Brian stared at the two numbly, still waiting for his mind to catch up. Something was wrong with this situation—well, **everything** was wrong with it, but one thing kept him from reaching out and pulling his daughter away from the monster. It was the look that Raimee was giving the ghost. She was surprised and confused but she didn't look scared or ready to scream like he would expect. Instead her eyes were softening with an emotion he couldn't comprehend and she leaned towards the glowing teen.

"That ghost did this to us?" the ghost suggested. Raimee shrugged as her ragged breath quieted. Neither girl seemed to realize he was there and Brian was too mystified to even make a noise—that is until he heard Raimee's reply.

"Possibly…are you okay?"

"**What?!**"

* * *

Danny gaped as Desiree appeared in front of him and flew down towards Raimee, pools of pink energy in both of her hands. How stupid could he be? He **knew** that his dad had accidentally released several ghosts into the human world recently and that he should be careful until he caught them all! Obviously one of them was Desiree and **he** had just made a wish! A wish that he definitely wanted answered but not in this way. Desiree's wishes never ended well. Gritting his teeth, he invisibly dropped to the ground. He needed to stop her.

Then again, if he did he wouldn't have the chance to discover Raimee's secret. But if he didn't what would happen to Raimee? Danny hesitated. He **could** wait until after she granted his wish to capture her. That way he'd know but Raimee wouldn't have to suffer the consequences. Unless, of course, she was evil or a ghost or something. Then what would he do? Danny grabbed his head. Okay, now he was confused.

He refocused on the scene before him just as Desiree announced her familiar catch phrase. Her ectoplasm engulfed Raimee and he winced as she huddled in pain. Maybe he should just thermos Desiree now…. As Danny tried to make up his mind a man burst out from the nearest apartments and ran across the street.

"NO! Get away from her!" he screamed. Desiree, slightly bigger and smiling wickedly, complied before Danny could intervene. The man rushed to Raimee's side, panic clear on his face. Danny shed his invisibility and took a few steps forward, unsure about what he should do but still wanting a clear view of Raimee.

Just as he managed to see her around the man's wide shoulders the pink light slid to the center of her chest and then off her body, changing colors at it did so. Pink turned to glowing black, red, and gray and he recognized what it was a second before the form settled into a long mane of black hair and a familiar face.

"Chaos!" he hissed. So he was right. That ghost **was** connected to Raimee—maybe even possessing her! She had to be if she was in the human girl, which explained how 'Raimee' had won the fight against Dash! Danny shook his head. He had guessed something like that but now here was definite proof.

Anger flared inside him as another thought occurred to him. That meant that Raimee was innocent and Chaos was the one causing all the trouble! Wait, or Raimee was somehow involved with Chaos and she was okay with being possessed? He grimaced as he felt the beginning pangs of a headache. His accidental wish was only making things more confusing. With another shake of his head, he returned his attention to the three in the street. The silence that followed the two girls' separation made it easy for him to hear both Chaos and Raimee.

"How did I just…?" the ghost whispered.

"I…I don't know!" Raimee replied, her gaze focused strictly on Chaos. Oddly enough neither of them seemed to realize that they were being watched by Danny or the man that stood only a foot away from them. Who was he anyways?

"That ghost did this to us?"

"Possibly…" Raimee frowned, before adding, "are you okay?" Danny's eyes narrowed. So she knew about Chaos, which meant his second theory was the right one.

"**What?!**" the man exclaimed. Both girls jerked around, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Dad?!" Raimee gasped. "Wait, you um…" her gaze switched between Chaos and her father several times. "Uh…"

"You were **possessing** my daughter?!" he roared, and Danny froze at the rage that roiled off him. The man—Mr. Perkings he realized—looked livid. Sure, Danny was mad too but mainly out of frustration. There was something deeper to his anger that Danny couldn't name.

"No way!" Chaos snapped. "I wasn't possessing anyone! Ray will agree with me too!"

"It's true, Dad! Chaos doesn't possess me when she stays inside me!" Raimee stood up, one hand still resting on her chest. Danny's frown returned and deepened. How did Chaos do **that**? He had never heard of a ghost that was able to be inside someone else without possessing them.

"Don't call her 'Ray' like you're her friend," Mr. Perkings growled at Chaos, his hands clenching into fists at his side. "Not—"

"—But she **is** my friend, Dad!" Raimee blurted out, jumping in between him and Chaos. Danny couldn't see her dad's face but he could guess as Raimee's eyes widened. It was probably the same expression that his parents would wear if he told them he was Danny Phantom.

"You—you are…!" he sputtered. "You would…a—a **ghost**!"

"I…uh…" Raimee seemed equally unable to speak, her frame wilting slightly. When neither Perkings seemed able to say anything Chaos intervened.

"Yeah, she's my friend and I would never do anything to harm her!" she declared, defiance clear in her red eyes.

"Too late for that!" Mr. Perkings snapped back. Raimee automatically dropped her hands from where they had been massaging her chest.

"Dad, please just listen to me—to us," she pleaded.

"No," he cut her off. "You said you wouldn't get involved. You promised that you would stay out of this ghost stuff!"

"I **said** that I would try my best but that was **after** I met Chaos!" Raimee argued.

"Well that's trying your best!" he scoffed.

"I wasn't going to stop being her friend just because **you** are too afraid to even let me be who I am!" Raimee countered. She turned and took off down the street.

"Ray!" Chaos jumped into the air and flew after her.

"Don't you dare go near her!" Mr. Perkings cried out, following after her at a much slower pace. Danny also gave pursuit, determined not only to figure out exactly who Chaos and Raimee were but also to hopefully fix the mess he had accidentally unleashed.

* * *

Brian chased the ghost down an alleyway and into the next street. She darted to the right and he tried his best to follow, but she was flying quicker than he could run. He pushed forward anyways, his breath heavy and his body aching. It had been a long time since he had moved like this.

He reached an intersection and stopped at the corner. The ghost girl was nowhere in sight. He jerked around, hoping to see just a glimpse of glowing red or black but he couldn't see anything! Where had they gone? What if she had caught up with Raimee? What would she do to her?! Dread trickled down his back, but before it could overwhelm him he remembered his strange new power. Yes! He could sense ghosts!

Closing his eyes, Brian tried to focus on his extra sense. He had tried so hard to avoid it all weekend, but now he needed it! Raimee could be in trouble! And even if what she said was true and she had somehow befriended a ghost, that **still** meant she was in danger. Ghosts lie. Ghosts pretend to be your friend and then betray you when you try to help. Ghosts do nothing but hurt.

He reached out with his senses, trying to feel for cold spots or some other sensation like those he had noticed throughout the day. He could feel flickers of cold energy around him but none of them were like those that had floated outside his window, which he knew were actual ghosts. Where was she?!

Abruptly, he felt something icy quickly flying towards him from behind. He whirled around, his eyes opening just in time to see a blur of white and black rush past him. The blur stopped about fifteen feet away from him in the sky. It was another ghost, his green eyes roving over the intersection before focusing on something down the street in front of him. He sped off in that direction and Brian stared at his retreating back before taking off after him. Maybe he would lead him to his daughter.

* * *

Raimee was mortified. Her dad had just seen Chaos come out of her! It was bad enough for him to know that she was still connected to something ghostly but for him to see Chaos as she was forced **out** of her body…. Well she had seen his face; he was outraged!

Now what was she supposed to do?

He refused to listen. He refused to let her explain or to even let the idea of a good ghost enter his head! She had hoped that somehow over time she would convince him that he was wrong but now everything was **ruined**! If he had been stubborn before she couldn't imagine how he would be after seeing what had just happened.

She sprinted down a side street in the opposite direction of her new home and Casper High. The area around her was unfamiliar but that didn't matter at the moment. All she wanted to do was to leave the whole situation behind. Tears pricked at her eyes but she blinked them away before they could fall, searching for a new road to turn down.

She just had to get away from her dad…and even Chaos. If she could just be alone for a few minutes, just enough time for her to sort out her confusing thoughts, she could figure out what to do. Maybe there was a way she could salvage the situation. Maybe she could make things right.

Raimee stopped at a street corner and saw the edge of a park to her left. She turned towards that, hoping for a place to hide and rest. She doubted her dad would be able to find her and Chaos would have a hard time spotting her in a crowd or among trees. Just as she made it to a secluded entrance to the park, though, she felt a ghostly presence appear behind her.

"Raimee! Will you stop already?" Chaos's voice called out from behind her.

"Go away!" she said, not bothering to turn around. "I need to be alone!"

"Tch! Yeah right! Like I'm gonna leave you alone after that ghost chick just tore us apart! No way, I don't think so!" Chaos appeared in front of her, forcing Raimee to stop.

"I can sense her if she comes back," she muttered, trying to find a way around her friend. She leaned to the left but Chaos blocked her path.

"Well that's only half the reason I'm following you anyways," she said. "I'm your friend and most of this is my fault so I'm gonna stick with ya whether you like it or not." Raimee scowled, shifting to the right. Chaos matched her move.

"And what if I don't want you to be around right now?"

"I said 'whether you like it or not' didn't I?" Raimee rolled her eyes, but stood still.

"Okay, so now what?"

"Well how 'bout finding that stupid ghost and wasting her?" Chaos offered, a hard gleam in her eyes. "No ghost upends your life and gets away with it if I can help it." Ruby energy glowed in her hands.

"That's…very nice, but I meant about my dad," Raimee replied, anxiety replacing her anger. "How am I even supposed to go back to him? He **hates** ghosts—even though he shouldn't—and I just don't know how I can make it better! And what if I can't? What will I do?!"

"You'll figure it out," Chaos assured her calmly. "'Cause you always do and you've got **me**. And I say we go find that ghost, **waste** her, and **then** deal with your dad. Y'know, a little revenge to make you feel better. Who knows? Maybe she can reverse it!"

"I don't—" Raimee was cut off as another voice interrupted.

"I think it's a little late for reversing it."

* * *

Danny floated in the air above the two girls, his arms crossed. It had only taken him a few minutes to catch up with them after leaving Mr. Perkings far behind, just in time to hear the tail end of their discussion. He still wasn't sure what to think of the whole situation but he did know that he wanted to, so it was finally time for a confrontation with both Raimee and Chaos.

"Ghost dude? So you survived my Sparks, huh?" Chaos greeted.

"Easily," Danny lied. Chaos frowned and he smirked in response. "But that's not why I'm here. I just saw what Desiree did and I want some answers."

"Desiree?" Raimee wondered out loud. "The ghost who...?" She rubbed her chest.

"Yeah," he answered her silent question. "She forced you two apart, but I want to know why **you**," he pointed at Chaos, "were in **her**." He jerked his head at Raimee.

"'Cause I wanna be. How 'bout that?" Chaos challenged. "But why are **you** asking? Are you friends with this Desiree?"

"No," Danny rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to catch her. She's a wishing ghost and she causes a lot of problems when she's in town but that's not the point. What were you doing in her and why are you two even here?"

"Like I said Saturday night why can't I check out a new town every once in a while?"

"Like **I** said if you're causing trouble then you're gonna have to deal with me," Danny responded.

"Who said we're causing trouble?"

"I was at Casper High today; I heard what you did to that guy," he answered. "Actually, I heard that **you**," he turned to Raimee, "beat him up and I thought that was pretty weird so I followed you."

"You followed me?" Raimee gasped. "But I would have sen—er, I would have noticed." Danny quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm a ghost. If I don't want you to see me, you don't," he replied, wondering how a supposed friend of Chaos would forget that. Every ghost can go invisible.

"So what, you're mad 'cause I beat up on some teenage jerk?" Chaos questioned, grabbing his attention. "He deserved it after trying to bully Raimee into working for him."

"Maybe," Danny conceded, secretly pleased by the fact that Dash was probably suffering at the moment. "But I'm still supposed to protect humans from ghosts."

"Well, then how 'bout protecting Ray from that Desiree ghost!" Chaos floated up until she was only two feet from him.

"I was going to," Danny defended.

"'**Going** to'? A little late for that," Chaos mocked.

"I didn't see you defending her either," he countered.

"Hey! I was—"

"—Stop it!" Raimee interjected. "Both of you! **Please**! Arguing won't settle anything!" Chaos closed her mouth, silently glaring at Danny. He, on the other hand, did not listen to the human girl.

"Look, I didn't mean for Desiree to do that to you guys, but now that she did I need to know exactly what you're doing here," he stated. "I protect Amity Park so if you're going to give us trouble or 'chaos' or whatever then **I'm** going to stop you."

"Wait," Raimee's forehead wrinkled. "You 'didn't **mean**' for Desiree to do that? Why did you say it like that? You mean you knew that she was going to do that?"

"What?!" Chaos rekindled her fists with bright ectoplasm. His eyes widened as electricity danced across her knuckles.

"I didn't say that!"

"You didn't say you didn't," Chaos snarled. "So you were 'going to' help us, huh? What a load of crap! 'Protect the humans'? Ha!"

"Hey, I do protect them!"

"Then why did you let that ghost attack her, huh?!"

"'Cause maybe I thought that she had something to hide! Like a ghost!" Danny pointed out, gesturing at the two.

"Oh, and all ghosts are **bad**?"

"No, but those that hurt others are!" Chaos moved in front of Raimee, her eyes burning dark red.

"But she doesn't hurt people!" Raimee cried out, feeling the familiar swooping sensation of déjà vu. It seemed like she was constantly defending Chaos lately. "She was just protecting me!"

"Maybe, maybe not, but I had to find out. So I wished—"

"—**You** made the wish?!" Chaos demanded.

"Not intentionally, but **yeah**!" Danny snapped back. "I wished she showed me what you were hiding and I'm glad I did because now I know that you can hide in humans without me sensing it and that Raimee is involved!"

"How could you?" Raimee moaned. "My dad **hates** ghosts and now he knows about Chaos!"

"Maybe that's a good thing!"

"And what if we wished the same thing happened to you?" Chaos asked. Danny froze as those words registered, the argument quickly fading from his mind. Desiree…

Cackling laughter echoed around the three as pink mist curled at Raimee's feet. His ghost sense went off, sending a shiver down his spine. He could feel a ghostly presence loom up behind him and before he could turn around something hot his back.


	11. Ghost Means Dead

**Dizgirl: **Ahaha…it's been six months since my last update… (sweatdrop). I am so sorry people! That's just plain unacceptable (scolds self). But now you do not have to wait any longer and not only just for this chapter but all the future chapters too! 'Cause I made a goal to finish this by the end of summer and I'll do it even if it kills me! So expect updates every couple weeks or so. (nods)

Anyways, enjoy and love the chapter! Heheh, the secrets are out!

**

* * *

**

Ghost Means Dead

Danny struggled to suppress a moan as the raw energy encased his body in a rosy light. The heat brought back memories of the last time he had been on the receiving end of one of Desiree's wishes. The last time he had lost his memory, this time he might be losing something just as important…

Though his eyes were squeezed shut from the heat, he could almost imagine what he looked like as he collapsed onto his knees with his face twisted up into a grimace. Desiree's energy focused in around his waist, touching the exact spot where the white rings that transformed him from human to ghost appeared. He could feel as the heat forced those rings into existence, pulling at them to stretch apart.

_NO!_ Clenching his teeth together, Danny fought the hot energy but it was like pushing against a wall. He pushed anyways, attempting to keep the cool rings together at his waist and not pull apart and reveal his long guarded secret. Just as he thought that maybe he could beat Desiree's power, he lost his grip and the light swung out, sweeping over him and changing him back into his human self.

A cool tingling sensation prickled across his skin as he knelt there panting, his eyes still shut tight. Silence hung around him and he couldn't bring himself to look up and see what reactions waited for him. Whatever they were, though, they couldn't be good.

* * *

Chaos floated there in stunned silence. The ghost that had ripped her and Raimee apart only minutes ago had reappeared above the trio and blasted Phantom with bright pink energy, laughing the whole time. She winced sympathetically as she remembered how uncomfortably hot Desiree's power had been when it was turned on her, but that disappeared when two blinding halos of light sprung to life at his waist. They swept over his crouched form and in their wake was someone who couldn't possibly be there.

"**Danny**?" Raimee gasped beside her, the same shock in her voice as Chaos felt. But there was no mistaking the now familiar black hair and lean build of Raimee's classmate Danny Fenton right in front of them.

"You're the ghost dude?!" Chaos's mouth dropped open. "You mean you were right there the whole time and I didn't even **notice**? AUGH!" She stamped her foot with a scowl on her face. In contrast, Raimee just continued to stare wide-eyed at Danny.

"Ghost…and human? This isn't possible. This can't...you can't be **both**!" she sputtered. Chaos's would-be tantrum died as her thoughts turned speculative. It was true, being a ghost meant you were dead and if you were human that meant you were alive. You can't be both, or at least that's what she had thought.

Danny slowly stood up and faced the girls, his eyes a turmoil of emotions though mostly defiance. "Yeah, well I thought ghosts couldn't hide in humans without me sensing them either, so I guess we're both wrong."

"Huh," Chaos huffed as a random thought occurred to her. "So…how did it happen? I mean, to have a half-ghost kid you'd need a human and a ghost to—"

"Okay, **no**! Stop **right** there Chaos," Raimee growled, her face turning red. "That's not how it would work! Uh…would it?" Danny glanced between the two, confusion replacing bravado. Then it seemed to click and a blush crept up his neck.

"**No**, that's **not** how it happened!" he retorted before hastily changing the subject, "besides you shouldn't be asking the questions, **I** should!"

"Oh and why's that?" Chaos folded her arms across her chest, her smirk disappearing into a scowl. "You just turned from a ghost to a human and you want to know why I can hang out in Ray without you sensing me? What gives you the right to ask the questions?"

"I'm the protector of this town!"

"Well good for you but that doesn't work for me," she snapped back. "I go by **my** rules, ghost dude, and you can't make me do anything."

"Wanna try me?" Danny threatened, his eyes glowing green.

"A few of Sparks should do the trick," Chaos taunted.

"Will you both cut it out?!" Raimee interrupted, stepping between the two. "Obviously we all have lots of questions but fighting won't help!" Chaos frowned and landed next to Raimee, not liking the idea of her friend being so close to Danny unprotected.

"Hey, I'm not the one who started the whole 'let's wish everyone knew our secrets' thing! He's the one who made the wish!"

"And **you** made the next one," Raimee countered before Danny could protest. "And we can all keep blaming each other **or** we could actually try to solve the problem!"

"By what, beating the crap out of that stupid genie ghost?" Chaos grumbled, her eyes burning a darker red.

"Sounds good to me," Danny agreed seriously.

"No wait, I meant talk—"

"—Where'd she go anyways?" Chaos floated up in the air, scanning the sky around her. Light flashed around Danny's waist as he changed back into Phantom.

"Knowing her she's nearby. She loves to see how her wishes turn out," Danny answered.

"Yeah? Good, 'cause I'm ready to fight!"

"This doesn't mean I'm done with you," Danny warned her. Chaos shrugged.

"Same here."

"Guys, this is not what I meant when I said 'solve the problem'!" Raimee called up to them, throwing her hands on her hips.

"Aw c'mon, Ray, just tell me where she is and we'll be done in no time," the ghost girl persuaded. As Raimee opened her mouth to reply she froze just at the same time that Danny gasped and shivered. Recognizing Raimee's expression, Chaos searched for a ghost.

"Where?" she calmly asked.

"There," both Raimee and Danny answered, pointing towards the center of the park. Chaos turned and took off, unaware of the inquisitive look that Danny sent Raimee before following her.

The two ghosts reached a secluded area of the park where a wishing well stood, though the normally quiet spot was anything but as people fled screaming. Trees were sprouting up around the edges of the walkway, attacking anything that moved, while gigantic pigeons were pecking at an older woman with a bag of bread.

"Keep wishing!" a voice cried out triumphantly. Chaos looked up to see Desiree watch the chaotic scene play out below and couldn't help but smirk in response.

"Well I'll give her one thing; she knows how to stir things up!" she admired.

"Whose side are you on?" Danny challenged, throwing a suspicious scowl her way.

"Mine," she replied cockily, crossing her arms. "And my side is against hers so…" She sent him a pointed look. He frowned but turned his glare towards Desiree.

"Hey Desiree!" Danny called, grabbing the ghost's attention. "This place **again**? You couldn't wish yourself somewhere a little more creative?" Desiree grinned slyly.

"Why would I go somewhere else when there are plenty of people wishing here? You for example…"

"Oh I'll give you a wish," Chaos began before Danny threw out an arm in front of her.

"Stop! Don't even say the word or she'll use it against you," he warned. "Believe me I know." Desiree chuckled at the hard looks the two exchanged.

"Here I thought I would have to wait weeks before you made a wish that I could use against you," she taunted them though her eyes were on Danny. "But all it took was that human girl. I knew if I stuck around her long enough, one of your secrets would come out! And look, I managed to reveal both of them, growing more powerful by the wish!"

"You're gonna get it!" Chaos snarled, her hands clenching into fists. "No one uses my friend to go after someone else!" She jumped forward and tackled Desiree, sending her hurtling into the ground. Pulling energy into her hands, Chaos then bombarded her with a wave of ecto-blasts.

Desiree shrieked under the attack but quickly recovered, soaring up into the air and molding one of her hands into a giant mallet. She swung at Chaos and knocked her through the air and into the waiting arms of the violent trees. She hissed as they grabbed at her arms and legs and held her down.

"My turn!" Danny yelled before blasting Desiree with emerald energy. She reeled back from the blow but then retaliated with another swing, this time aiming for his head. He ducked and flew around so he was behind her and struck her again with another ecto-ray.

"Fools, you cannot defeat me as long as you fight separately," Desiree jeered, pink energy glittering to life in her hands. The trees redoubled their efforts to hold Chaos down as she struggled to free herself and the large birds turned their beady eyes on Danny. "And after granting your wishes that will never happen!"

_Well she might be right about that…_ Chaos thought, her eyes burning a brighter red. _Doesn't mean she's right about the first thing though!_ She stopped fighting against the foliage and instead focused on her energy. Electricity sizzled along her skin as it covered her from head to toe. The trees roared in pain and let go of her as she pushed the layer of black and white energy outwards much like she had done to Plasmius at their last meeting.

Flying up and away from them, Chaos searched for Danny only to find him streaking across the sky away from a flock of pigeons the size of horses. She quirked an eyebrow, debating internally whether she should help him or go after Desiree instead.

"Chaos!" Raimee's voice cried out from below her. She twisted around to see her friend standing between two unmoving trees, her face set in a worried frown. "What are you doing?!"

"Hmph, Genie Girl over here is being difficult but don't worry, I'll get her," Chaos reassured her. Raimee's frown only deepened.

"Maybe you should listen to her and try fighting with Phan—Danny instead!"

"Not while he keeps accusing us of being bad guys when we haven't even done anything!"

"We'll talk about that later, for now…" the rest of Raimee's comment died as Danny flew past them at top speed.

"A little help?!" he called back before twisting away from several giant birds and diving into the surrounding trees. Raimee sent a look at Chaos.

"Alright alright," she grumbled, turning towards the genie ghost. "I'll save the ghost dude." Smirking as an idea came to her, she floated up to where Desiree was gloating.

"Hey! You wanna grant more wishes?" she asked, effectively grabbing her attention. "Try this one on for size; I wish that the birds and trees were back to normal!" Desiree raised a hand.

"So you have wished it so shall it be!" Pink light raced from her and struck the pigeons and plants, quickly transforming them back to their original states. Chaos grinned.

"Sweet," she said. "What else can I wish for?" Danny flew up to her side, his face reluctantly grateful.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"No problem," she replied as he reached into his backpack.

"Now time to finish this," Danny held up the thermos she had seen him use before and turned it on Desiree. "I wish you'd go into this thermos!"

"No! **NO**!" she screeched, as the blinding light burst out from the device and wrapped around her. "I will not grant that wish!"

"Can't wish yourself out of this one!" Chaos mocked with a smirk. Danny capped the thermos and allowed a small smile himself. An awkward silence fell between the two but it was quickly interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Raimee!"

"Dad?!" Chaos glanced down to see Mr. Perkings stumble to a stop next to his daughter, breathing and sweating hard.

"Guess we got some explaining to do," she remarked, concern leaking into her usual cocky manner as Raimee grimaced at something her father said.

"**Yeah** you do," Danny said.

"And you too," Chaos crossed her arms. "But not now, kay? She needs me." He pressed his lips together but didn't argue.

"I guess I can't stop you after you helped me today, so…tomorrow we'll talk."

"Yeah, okay."

"So don't leave," he warned.

"Where am I gonna go? I still want to fight ya, ghost dude!" Danny's expression didn't change. Chaos snorted. "If you're worried about your secret, don't be. We have no one to tell." This seemed to ease enough of his doubt for him to leave and he took off towards his house. As soon as he was out of sight she let herself sink to the ground and into hearing range of the Perking's conversation.

"We'll talk…when we get home," she heard Mr. Perkings say. "When I know…you are safe." Her arms still crossed, Chaos dropped to the ground next to Raimee.

"She's safe," she stated, annoyed that he would think otherwise, "and that's because of me, thank you."

* * *

Raimee watched as Chaos distracted Desiree from Danny, confident that despite Chaos's reluctance she would help him until the specter was caught. Instead her thoughts turned to the one she was saving. Danny…was Phantom. It was impossible to believe and she didn't quite understand how it worked, but she couldn't deny what she had seen with her own eyes. Somehow Danny was both human and ghost.

As she thought about it, she realized that it really did make sense. When she had felt the trace of ghost energy in him it was Phantom she was sensing, but because he wasn't a full ghost he didn't feel like one. His strange behavior…well that could just be how he was all the time but some of that was probably because of ghost stuff. She knew how difficult it was to keep her 'normal' life from mixing with her ghost-related one.

Then there was Phantom's behavior. She hadn't seen much of it herself but Chaos never stopped complaining about his mysterious disappearances. Now they knew where he went. Like Chaos had said, he had been right there and they hadn't even realized it. But now that they knew…

Raimee bit her lip as she tried to organize her thoughts. Everything was swirling around in her head as she made connections between Danny and Phantom, but for each one she discovered she had a swarm of questions too. And if **she** had questions…well he had made it abundantly clear that he wanted to know more about who they were as well. She sighed heavily. They would need to talk soon, whether Danny and Chaos wanted to or not.

"Raimee!" She jerked around at her name and saw her dad stagger towards her.

"Dad?!" He lurched to a stop and bent over, breathing hard.

"You…are…okay?" he panted.

"Yeah, are you?" she asked, leaning towards him.

"I'm fine…but you…are in so much…trouble young lady," Brian looked at her seriously before hanging his head and exhaling noisily. Raimee flinched from the anger he still managed to portray despite the fact that he sounded like he was about to pass out.

"I…" she trailed off, not sure there was anything she could say right now to make the situation better. It was then she noticed that one of the ghost energies had disappeared while another was coming closer towards them. Did that mean the fight was over?

"We'll talk…when we get home," he said when she didn't continue. "When I know…you are safe." Raimee nervously ran a hand through her hair as she thought about the upcoming confrontations between her dad, Chaos, and even Danny. This was not going to be fun.

"She's safe and that's because of me, thank you," Chaos interjected as she landed next to Raimee, startling both of them.

"Chaos…" Raimee cautioned, her eyes on her dad. His face, already red from exertion, seemed to darken.

"If there is anyone who is trying to keep her safe…it's me!" he responded hotly. Chaos opened her mouth to argue but Raimee pushed herself in front of her.

"Please! Not here, not now!" she pleaded. "Let's do what Dad says and go back to the apartment. We'll talk there." Brian and Chaos swapped glowers.

"I want to talk to you alone," her father said.

"Chaos is a part of this, Dad. She needs to be there." He hesitated but finally nodded.

"Okay, let's go back." He turned, gesturing for her to follow. As she did, Chaos leaned close to her and whispered in her ear.

"We'll talk with Phantom tomorrow, probably at school or something."

"Oh…" Raimee nodded.

"Are you coming?" Brian called. Chaos patted her arm before phasing into her body.

'_Here we go.'_

* * *

Danny wasn't entirely sure he had made the right choice to leave Chaos and Raimee at the park with Mr. Perkings. How did he know that they would keep his secret? What if they told Raimee's dad or worse, the authorities? He didn't really know much about the Perkings but they both already seemed familiar with the paranormal world. They might actually know about the Guys in White or some other ghost-hunting group that they could send after him.

He slowed to a stop in midair, only a block or so away from his house. Could he trust them until tomorrow? Danny thought of their fight with Desiree and how Chaos had actually really helped. He couldn't discount that. Maybe she wasn't a bad ghost. Of course he still had some questions and Chaos made it clear that they did too… He guessed that he could wait until tomorrow.

Anxiety roiled in his stomach as he continued to think about what this meant. Someone else knew his secret. For Chaos, it wasn't that big of a deal. Most if not all of the ghosts knew his secret and only a rare few had tried to use it against him. If she was just here to be with Raimee like she claimed, then she shouldn't be a threat. Danny resumed his flight towards home, worry creasing his forehead.

No, if anyone was a threat, it was Raimee. He wasn't sure where she stood in all of this and that concerned him. She seemed nice but if anyone else at his school knew his true identity—**identities** really—they would love to use it as leverage against him. That or blab about it to everyone else. Was she like the rest? Danny didn't think so, especially considering the fact that she had been trying so hard to keep Chaos a secret herself, but still…

He dove down once he reached his street and landed in an alleyway near his house. With a quick glance around him to make sure he was alone, he transformed back into his human half and stepped out onto the sidewalk. As he walked towards his front door, his thoughts turned from the day's events to what awaited him at home. Danny cringed.

His parents were going to be furious with him for staying after school when he was grounded. The worst part was that he would have to lie to them about where he had been since the truth was out of the question. Oh, he was **so** grounded unless he could come up with a good enough excuse.

He racked his brain as he went up the step and grabbed the door handle. Twisting the knob and vainly hoping that his parents were busy in the lab and hadn't noticed his absence, he opened the door. His mother stood just a few feet away, her expression anything but welcoming.

"Where have you been young man?" Maddie demanded, her hands on her hips. Danny grimaced, still scrambling for a cover story.

"Uh…I stayed after school…to," he paused as he realized that he could use a half-truth, "talk to the new girl, Raimee."

"New girl?" Maddie inquired, closing the door behind him. She hesitated before her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Yeah, she just moved here from Wisconsin," Danny continued, hoping the vague connection to Vlad would soften her anger. "I, uh, had some questions about the papers we have due on Wednesday, so she helped me out."

"So you stayed behind to work on **homework**?" The skepticism in her voice annoyed Danny but he couldn't really blame her. It was a shaky excuse on a good day for him.

"Yeah…"

"But why ask the new girl? She has to be behind." Maddie crossed her arms.

"Uh, well she's **really** smart," Danny offered with a weak grin. "She's a whole year ahead of me in math even though she's my age."

"Actually," Jazz's voice came from the stairs, "she's two years ahead but the school would only let her skip one." Danny smiled gratefully at her and Jazz winked.

"You know her too?" Maddie asked, turning around.

"Yeah, the teachers asked me to welcome her and see if I could get her to join the academic decathlon team; she was almost the top of her class at her last school." His mom seemed torn now that it was clear that Raimee was real. Danny grabbed at the chance.

"She really helped me out. I know what topics I'm going to use now." Luckily this was true but it had been Sam who had helped him with that. "But maybe Jazz could help me with the outlines…?" He looked pointedly at his sister who opened her mouth and then nodded.

"Sure, Danny, I have some time." Maddie frowned but then smiled.

"Well okay, but I expect you to have those papers done—and done **well**," she told him firmly.

"Yep, I will!" Danny replied, heading quickly for the stairs. Wow, he actually managed to avoid being grounded longer!

"Oh and Danny," his mother called out. He paused with one foot on the first step, his silent celebration grinding to a halt. He turned his head to face her.

"Uh, yeah?"

"No staying after school again without asking me."

"Oh yeah sure," he nodded, relieved that that was all she wanted. Jazz slipped past him and started up the stairs. Danny made to follow when another thought struck him. "Hey Mom, where's Dad and Vlad?"

"They're down in the—" an echoing rumble from below cut off Maddie's reply and the house shook slightly. The three Fenton's froze, each with identical looks of shock on their faces. "Lab…"

"Dad?" Jazz slid quickly to the bottom of the steps, barely missing Danny as he dropped his backpack and headed for the basement.

"Jack!" Maddie was the first to reach the door in the kitchen, ripping it open and descending the staircase quickly. Danny and Jazz were close behind her. "What happened? Is everything okay?!"

The lab was filled with smoke though it was slowly dissipating as the ventilation system kicked in. They could hear coughing coming from the other end of the room and out of the gloom two forms emerged. Jack was holding the remains of a Fenton bazooka, his bewildered expression almost comical, while Vlad was only a few feet to his left, appearing calm though his normally spotless suit was rather disheveled.

"What on earth happened here?!" Maddie exclaimed, rushing forward.

"You wouldn't believe it Maddie," Jack began, his tone torn between confusion and excitement. "I was trying to sort the wires so I could recalibrate this and suddenly it exploded!"

"Exploded?!" she repeated, her eyebrows knitting together. Danny and Jazz exchanged puzzled looks.

"Yeah! Who knew these bazookas had that kind of power!" he was grinning now despite the blood dripping down from his forehead.

"Jack..."

"Why if I ever untangle this thing and get it to work right we could take out hundreds of ghosts at one time!"

"Jack," Maddie attempted again.

"Who cares about forcing the ghosts to go back to their creepy homes in the Ghost Zone, we could destroy them on the spot!" Danny winced, glancing over at Vlad who remained expressionless.

"Jack!" Maddie grabbed the smoking invention in his hand and pulled it from his grasp. "We are not going to even think about that right now! Look at you, look at the lab!" She shook her head.

"But think of what these babies can **do**!"

"I don't have to think about it when the evidence is right in my **face**," Maddie replied unhappily before sighing. "It's obviously dangerous and we need to be careful." She gestured at Danny and Jazz.

"Of course, safety first but…" Jack protested.

"Please just drop it, Jack, and help me clean up."

"But Mad—"

"Just drop it," she repeated, her voice tight. "We can discuss this later." Maddie turned away from him and set the bazooka down on a nearby counter before beginning to pick up chunks of debris at her feet.

"Let me help you with that, Maddie," Vlad offered, moving swiftly to her side with a friendly smile on his face. Danny frowned at the older halfa. With everything that had happened today with Raimee and Chaos he had almost forgotten that he had to keep an eye out for Vlad as well.

Plasmius was obviously up to something—he had practically announced it when he had first arrived—and now his plan seemed to have started, but what was he doing? The bazooka had accidentally exploded, right? Unless, it wasn't an accident…

"Danny." He looked up to see Jazz's gaze on him.

"Huh?"

"You had something you wanted to talk to me about?" she prompted, jerking her head towards the stairs.

"Oh, uh, yeah," he looked back at the three adults cleaning up the lab, sending a distrustful glare at Vlad. "Yeah, I have **lots** to tell you."


	12. Ghostly Secrets

**Dizgirl: **Yeah, so my plan to finish this by the end of the summer went down the drain…sorry about that. In my defense, August turned out to be crazy busy and I also had writer's block for a week. Either way, I apologize and offer in return a more likely deadline: the end of the year (hopefully!) It shouldn't be too hard…I mapped out the rest of the story and it's about twenty chapters long, but I will not promise any more. I will just try!

So, this chapter was supposed to be sort of the midpoint where the plot suddenly picks up and stuff (and maybe it still is…) but I had to shift a few things around and I'm not sure anymore! (sweatdrop) But please enjoy and love it anyways!

* * *

**Ghostly Secrets**

Danny walked towards the cafeteria with his two best friends on either side. Sam wore a tight frown, her lunch box swinging against her thigh, while Tucker kept shooting looks full of curiosity and light frustration at Danny.

"Dude, just tell us already," he tried yet again. Danny shook his head, avoiding both of their eyes.

"I'll tell you in a few minutes, I just have to do something first," he replied tersely, ignoring Sam's impatient sigh.

"Yesterday you wouldn't stop talking about her and how something weird was going on but today you won't say a **word**?" Sam grumbled. Danny echoed her sigh. He knew he was being unfair to them—that if anyone should know it was them—but he and Jazz had decided it was best to wait.

"Look, I want to tell you but I have to…" Danny paused as he tried to come up with the best way to explain his hesitation and make them stop badgering him. "Well Jazz and I think that if I told you right away, my secret might be compromised but this way I won't have to worry about that."

"Your **secret**?" Tucker repeated.

"Compromised?!" Sam's scowl disappeared into a look of surprise.

"Yeah, so just wait alright?" The trio made it to their usual table where Jazz was already sitting. She greeted the three as they sat down.

"What do you mean your secret might be compromised?" Sam hissed as she pulled out various fruits and vegetables from her lunch box.

"It's not yet," Danny assured her before adding under his breath, "I think." Even though Danny had decided to trust Chaos and Raimee to keep his secret—at least until they talked—he couldn't completely get his previous suspicions out of his mind. What if they weren't good guys? What if they used his secret against him?

Well at least the second question wouldn't be a problem; they weren't the only ones that learned an important secret yesterday. And from the look on Raimee's face when she realized that both Danny and her father had learned about Chaos, she didn't want that secret to get out. If it had to be, he could play the same dangerous game with the two girls that he did with Vlad.

"I don't think his secret is really in danger," Jazz spoke up before Sam could continue. "This is more of a precaution." Unlike Danny, Jazz was a lot more trusting of Raimee's ability to keep quiet. Of course this might be due to the fact that she didn't know the full story of what had happened the day before.

Initially Danny had had every intention of telling Jazz everything about Raimee and Chaos but the lab incident with his dad and Vlad had not only completely distracted him but made him warier too. Like he had realized before, his secret was now at risk and if he told anyone what he knew, Chaos could just as easily turn around and tell what **she** knew—just like it would be with Vlad. So when he had finally finished ranting about Vlad and the evil plot he was surely planning (Jazz had agreed but pointed out that until they knew exactly what he was doing it was pointless to speculate), he had been hesitant to continue with his findings.

Fortunately Jazz had made it simple. She had already known that he was going to follow Raimee so she guessed he had discovered something he considered important about her. She even realized that whatever it was, was connected to Chaos. When Danny continued to dance around the subject, Jazz slowly convinced him to explain what was really bothering him.

"_Earlier you were so ready to find out what's going on but now that you know you won't tell me?" _

"_It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that I don't know if I can…" Danny rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to organize his thoughts. _

"_You want to protect Raimee's secret?" Jazz pressed when he didn't go on. _

"_I don't __**want**__ to," Danny scowled, "but…they know mine. They know my secret." His scowl fell into a worried frown. Saying the words aloud was a lot scarier than thinking them in his mind._

"_Oh…" she simply replied. _

She had remained silent for a while but then finally proclaimed that in that case he **shouldn't** tell her what he had learned until he had worked it out with Raimee. He needed to ask her for permission first before he told Jazz (and Sam and Tucker too). That way, he could evade retaliation and perhaps even strike up a friendship of sorts with the newcomer. Danny wasn't so sure about the friendship thing but he had to agree that asking first would be their safest bet. That is if Sam and Tucker didn't hurt him for keeping quiet first.

"But how did your secret even get out in the first place?!" Sam demanded.

"It's a long story…" he stalled.

"We've got fifty minutes," Sam countered.

"C'mon Danny," Tucker jumped in. "We know you went after Raimee so what did you find out?"

"I will after…" Danny cast his eyes around to avoid his friends' and landed on Raimee as she stood just inside the cafeteria doors. "I talk to Raimee and now she's here so…"

He waved a hand and Jazz did the same. They quickly caught Raimee's attention. She hesitated a few seconds but then began walking towards them. When she made it to the edge of their table she hovered yet again.

"Sit down and join us," Jazz invited, patting the seat next to her. Raimee's eyes darted to Danny who shrugged and gestured that he didn't care (though that was a lie).

"Thanks," Raimee smiled briefly but it disappeared as she yet again glanced towards Danny before hurriedly focusing on her lunch. An awkward tension fell over the group that contrasted sharply with the chatter echoing around them. Danny felt Jazz's foot poke his leg from under the table. He looked up to see her staring at him.

Talk to her, she mouthed. He wanted to scowl at her pushiness but this is what he had been waiting for; he just wished he had taken the time to think about what he was going to say! He turned to Sam and Tucker who were both watching him expectantly. Steeling himself for what he feared would be a very uncomfortable conversation, Danny twisted in his seat to face Raimee.

"Um, Raimee?" Her eyes snapped up and immediately looked into his.

"Yeah?" Danny paused for a second as he scrambled to come up with what to say. Drawing a blank, he decided to be straightforward.

"Look, you know my secret and I know yours." Danny determinedly ignored Jazz's eye roll at his lack of tact and continued, "and I don't really trust you yet…but, uh, 'you' helped me out yesterday so I don't think you're…evil."

Raimee blinked at this statement. Finally she replied, "Uh…thanks I think." Her gaze flitted around the table before returning to him. "Do…they…?"

"We know about Danny," Jazz answered before Danny could.

"Oh, okay," Raimee said, she played with the edge of her paper bag. "Do they…know about me?"

"No." This time both he and Jazz responded but Danny added, "I didn't tell them yet."

"Because he should **ask** first," Jazz finished. "It's your secret." Raimee seemed surprised by this and smiled warmly.

"Thank you, I—"

"—And because you know **his**," Sam burst out, interrupting whatever Raimee was going to say next. Everyone turned towards Sam who quirked an eyebrow. "What? This goes both ways doesn't it? Did she keep **your** secret?"

"Of course!" Raimee seemed shocked by the accusation. "I wouldn't tell anyone! Besides, who would I tell?"

"Well maybe your dad," Danny pointed out, voicing one of the many anxieties that he had thought of the night before. "You could've told him." Raimee's eyes widened.

"Oh no, if I can avoid any more discussions about ghosts with my dad I **will**!"

"Okay, then someone at school," Sam suggested.

"It'd give you instant popularity if you did," Tucker agreed.

"No," Raimee shook her head. "I don't want to be popular. Never have, never will." Danny noticed Sam's scowl soften just a touch at this statement. Jazz was grinning from ear to ear.

"See," she said, her voice taking on that know-it-all tone he highly disliked. "I told you she wouldn't tell anyone." But Danny had thought this through last night and there was one more thing he had to check.

"The authorities," Danny spoke up before Jazz could gloat too much. "There are ghost hunters out there you could've told about me." Raimee caught his eye, her defensive expression melting into sober frown.

"Never, I'll never call a ghost hunter," she said seriously. Danny had guessed that that would be the case. Raimee was friends with a ghost, she wouldn't bring a ghost hunter anywhere near them, but the fear had still been there. Hearing her say it out loud and so sincerely made him feel a whole lot safer.

Silence fell over the table once more but this time Danny was able to relax…and finally start on his lunch. There were still nagging questions and doubts playing at the back of his mind but somehow he knew he could trust Raimee with his secret. He had come a long ways from the day before when he had been practically stalking her, but then again a lot had happened.

He had learned about Raimee and Chaos and, if they were telling the truth, that they were friends. They had learned his secret but had not blabbed it to anyone, or so he believed. It all came down to whether or not they were telling the truth and his gut told him Raimee was. Sure his gut had also told him that something was weird about Raimee but he had been right about that too, hadn't he?

"Um," Raimee spoke up, interrupting Danny's musings. "I've never told anyone my secret before—well I guess except yesterday—but, I…" She bit her lip but seemed to force herself to continue. "I think it's okay if I told you." Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz remained silent as they pulled themselves from their own thoughts to listen to her.

"I mean, you kept my secret when you didn't have to and maybe if we both knew what was going on there'd be less trouble between us because I don't want there to be fighting and stuff if I can help it," Raimee babbled. "So, if we just got stuff out in the open and talked about it maybe things would be better."

"Yes," Jazz smiled. "I think that would be good too."

"It would even the playing field at least," Sam commented, her face still tight but no longer hostile. Tucker just gave Raimee a thumbs up to signal his agreement.

"Um, let's see…" Raimee's words were cut off by the shrill ringing of the bell. All five of them jumped as they abruptly remembered that they were still in school.

"Wow, time flies when you're revealing secrets," Tucker quipped.

"Except we never did," Sam muttered so that only he and Danny could hear.

"I guess I can tell you later…?" Raimee trailed off, standing up.

"Well this might not be the best spot anyways," Jazz admitted with a wry smile.

"So where?" Sam asked, shouldering her backpack.

"We could go to our house after school," Danny offered, meeting Jazz's eyes whose expression turned thoughtful.

"Dude, you're grounded," Tucker reminded him.

"Oh right, "Danny grimaced. "But it's been a week. They usually only last that long and if we say it's a homework group…"

"Will they really believe that?" Sam wondered.

"If Raimee comes with us they might," Tucker said. The whole group began walking towards the cafeteria exit.

"That will actually help your story from yesterday, Danny," Jazz agreed. "And I can say that I'm helping all of you with your papers. They might just allow that."

"Okay, we'll do that," Danny grinned.

"Can you, Raimee?" Jazz turned to her. Raimee frowned but nodded.

"Sure. I'll just have to call my dad." Everyone could hear the strain in her voice as she said that and Jazz quickly moved on.

"So we'll meet at my car? I can drive us home and then we can talk."

"Yup."

"See you then!"

* * *

The last three classes of the day were a blur to Raimee as she analyzed what she had learned at lunch. Raimee wasn't sure if it was a surprise to learn that Danny's friends and sister knew his secret. It did seem obvious in hindsight as she thought about the day Tucker helped her find her locker or when she had sat with them at lunch that first day of school. They had been hiding things from her from day one. Again, that wasn't that much of a surprise but it was nice to know her instincts hadn't been completely off.

She couldn't help but be slightly jealous of Danny. For the past five years she had been the only one who knew about Chaos and that meant their secret rested completely on her shoulders. She didn't have anyone to cover her back or to talk to about ghost-related frustrations—except for Chaos herself. Considering the fact that her ghostly friend was the cause of most of her strife, she wasn't exactly the best of confidants.

But that could change now that she had committed to telling Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz about Chaos. Raimee's stomach twisted nervously at the thought but she was also just a little excited. Unlike her dad, these four wouldn't be instantly opposed to what Chaos was and hopefully they would be willing to see past her obsession with causing havoc. She really was a great person when you got to know her…

The bell signaling the end of the day rang loudly overhead and Raimee jumped. Her history class was already over? She began to gather her stuff, wondering if she had missed anything important and hoping fervently that she hadn't. They had a paper due the next day; that had to be it right? While she fretted about this, Raimee felt Chaos's familiar presence appear above her head before diving into her body.

'_So I was thinking that we should make a list of questions to ask the ghost dude,_' Chaos greeted her.

'_Hello to you too,'_ Raimee replied, her tone grim. She stood up and headed for the exit.

'_Whoa, what's wrong?' _

'_Nothing, I'm just mad at myself for being distracted. Go on,'_ Raimee sighed.

'_Okay…anyways, I was thinking about lunch—sorry 'bout leaving you after that by the way but I was just __**itching**__ for a fight after what that goth girl said to you—'_

'—_It's fine, don't worry about it. I'm just glad you didn't go after her.'_

'_Tch, she was asking for it, accusing you of blabbing his secret! Like you would do that!'_ Chaos thought darkly.

'_She was just being a protective friend like someone I know…' _Raimee opened her locker door and grabbed her literature book.

'_Who?'_ Chaos joked before continuing more seriously. _'Anyways, like I was saying before I think we should have some questions ready.' _

'_Shouldn't we think of what we want to say to them first?' _Raimee asked, her stomach flip-flopping again.

'_You told your dad the whole story yesterday. Just tell them the same thing.'_

'_I guess so,'_ Raimee pursed her lips as she headed towards the parking lot. She sighed again as her thoughts turned towards her father.

'_He'll get over it at some point,'_ Chaos assured her.

'_I…I'm just afraid I was too harsh,' _Raimee thought, the anxiety of last night's discussion mixing with her worry for today's. _'I took your side over his and I think that really hurt him.' _

'_Well he was trying to separate us! Would you let him do that?'_

'_No! I just wish it didn't have to come down to that! I'm…I'm almost afraid to go home and see him…' _

'_I'm not sure I'm even allowed in the house,'_ Chaos laughed humorlessly.

'_I should probably call him though…to let him know I'm going to Danny's…' _

'_Yeah, probably.'_ Raimee paused outside of the school, her hand hovering over her pocket.

'_Maybe on the car ride there…'_

'_You're stalling.'_

'_Yes, yes I am,' _Raimee admitted. _'But…um, so what are your questions?' _Chaos paused and Raimee could tell she was debating whether or not to let the subject drop.

Finally Chaos muttered, _'whatever….'_ Smiling gratefully Raimee asked once more.

'_What do you want to ask him? Oh, and 'do you want to fight me?' doesn't count.' _

'_Well—wait, why can't I ask him that?'_

'_Because first,' _Raimee began, her tone playful now that they were on a lighter subject, '_it's obvious that you want to brawl him so there's no need to ask and second, I would __**really**__ appreciate if you didn't pick a fight with someone who could possibly be my friend!'_

'_Real friends brawl each other…' _Chaos disagreed, a pout clear in her voice.

'_Only in your eyes, Chaos,' _Raimee rolled her own before scanning the parking lot and catching sight of Jazz standing by her car. She quickly made her way over towards the redhead, smiling when Jazz looked her way.

"Hey," Raimee said.

"Hi," Jazz replied, waving at the open backseat. Raimee dumped her backpack and then stood beside the older student who asked, "How was school?"

"Alright," Raimee answered. "You?"

"It was good." After that the two fell into silence and Raimee returned to her internal conversation with Chaos. _'So…'_

'_Well besides that question, I wanna know how he became a ghost/human dude,'_ Chaos continued. _'But more importantly what kind of powers he has!'_

'_I wonder if he has an obsession…' _Raimee mused. _'And like you said, what exactly he is. Is he half and half? A human with ghost powers? Vice versa?' _

'_Yeah, and how powerful he is!' _

'_Does anyone else know his secret or just his sister and friends?' _

'_Does he fight ghosts a lot?'_

'_What's it like to have ghost powers?'_

'_Why won't he fight me?'_

'_Chaos,' _Raimee sighed.

'_What?'_ Before she could reply, Danny, Sam and Tucker walked up. Greetings were exchanged and all of them piled into the car, the Fenton's in the front and Sam, Tucker, and Raimee in the back. Her whole insides squirming now as she sat nervously to one side (Tucker had graciously offered to take the middle seat), Raimee pulled out her cell phone from her pocket.

'_Just get it over with,'_ Chaos advised. _'Maybe you'll get lucky and just get his…uh, message thingy.' _

'_Voicemail,'_ Raimee automatically corrected. _'Maybe, but with your luck?'_

'_What's wrong with my luck?' _

"Um, hey," Raimee spoke aloud to her car-mates, ignoring Chaos's indignation in the process. "I need to call my dad, do you mind?"

"No that's fine," Jazz smiled in the rearview mirror, while Danny shrugged. Raimee pressed speed dial on her phone and listened to the ringtone with trepidation.

'_Please go to voicemail, please go to voicemail…'_ There was a click and she grimaced as she heard her father's voice.

"Just a minute—hello?"

"Um, hi Dad," she said.

"Oh, hi," he responded, his tone difficult to read. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Raimee frowned at his assumption. "Nothing is wrong, I just wanted to let you—to **ask** if I could go over to a classmate's house and work on some homework."

"A classmate? Who?" Mr. Perking's tone lightened considerably. She could only guess he had expected something ghost related and scowled. Then again, he wasn't that far off the mark…

"Danny Fenton."

"Fenton? Fenton…I know that name from somewhere," her dad murmured to himself.

"Really?" Raimee's forehead wrinkled. Where would he have heard that name before?

"Hmm…I can't remember, but that should be fine. I'm staying late today at work so take your time."

"Okay."

"But don't stay out late," her dad hastily added. "It's a school night and...you don't want to…is **she** with you?"

"Yes," Raimee's frown deepened at her father's reference to Chaos.

'_He knows I can hear him right?'_

'_I don't really know…'_

"Hmph, I can pick you up if you want. You don't need **her** to do it for you, okay?"

"Okay, we'll see how it goes," Raimee replied, suppressing the desire to defend her friend. Her father had already made it very clear last night that he didn't want anything to do with Chaos once she had finally convinced him that she wasn't a threat. There wasn't any use in bringing up that whole discussion again over the phone in Jazz's car.

"Alright, call me."

"Kay, bye." Raimee snapped her phone and looked up in time to see Danny watching her but he quickly looked away before she could read his expression. Her face flushed as she wondered what the group had thought of her conversation.

"Look, we're here," Jazz called out cheerfully as she steered the car into the garage. Raimee stared up at the top-heavy brick building with the florescent sign reading "Fentonworks" on it, distracted from her embarrassment.

"Wow," she mouthed.

'_Dude, what a sweet house!' _

"Yeah," Tucker grinned at her. "It's probably breaks a hundred building codes but Danny's parents have a lot of leeway here."

"Really? Why?" Raimee asked as she scooted out of the car. Danny threw his backpack over his shoulder.

"My parents are ghost hunters," he answered casually before heading inside. Raimee froze.

'_I take that back about the house,'_ Chaos thought, her form shifting nervously inside her.

"What?!" she gasped out loud. "You just decided to tell me this **now**?!" Danny poked his head back outside.

"Don't worry, they couldn't catch a ghost if it was sitting right next to them; I do it every night at dinner," he chuckled at the joke before slipping behind the door. Raimee remained where she was, oblivious to the strange looks Danny's friends and sister were giving her.

'_How could he just…'_

'_This is 'cause I got him with my Sparks, huh?'_ Chaos huffed. _'Well whatever, go inside Raimee. I can handle his parents!' _

'_Chaos.'_

'_Just do it, I'll be fine.'_

'_Okay…'_ Raimee trailed after Tucker who was last through the door. _'I guess this means his parents don't know his secret…?'_

'_Hmph, well if they come after me and I can't get away I'll just tell them about him! Then we'll see who's laughing last!'_

'_Well let's just hope it doesn't happen…' _Raimee thought worriedly. She followed the group into the living room where a man was sitting with a newspaper in his lap.

"Ah Daniel, how nice to see you," he began, a smile spreading over his face. "Jasmine, Samantha, Tucker, good to see you too." He nodded at each of them before his gaze finally landed on Raimee. His smile disappeared momentarily but she wasn't able to catch his expression before the grin was back in place.

"And who is this?" Raimee smiled politely, wondering the same thing about him. There seemed to be something vaguely familiar about him though she couldn't pinpoint what.

'_Do I know him?'_ Chaos asked.

'_I was just thinking the same thing…' _

'_Huh.'_

"This is Raimee, a friend from school," Jazz spoke up. She then turned towards Raimee and added, "This is Vlad Masters, he's a friend of our parents."

"Vlad Masters?" Raimee did a double take of the man. "The billionaire who lives up in Madison?"

"That would be me," Vlad agreed. "It's always nice to know you younger ones are taking an interest in the business world."

"Well, um, I used to live up in Wisconsin so I heard a lot about you…" Raimee corrected quietly.

"Did you? Beautiful area isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Raimee scuffed her shoe against the ground. Talking to adults usually didn't faze her but something about this man made her neck hairs stand up on end. It was almost like her ghost sense. As if he could read her thoughts Danny spoke up.

"Where's my mom and dad?" Vlad turned his gaze onto him.

"Down in the lab working on those bazookas, though I have to say they seem to be spending more time cleaning up your father's messes than they are fixing the weapons," he answered, his tone colored with light concern. Danny's eyes narrowed and Raimee wondered why, but the teen stormed off in the direction Vlad indicated before she could figure it out.

"Here, let's go upstairs," Jazz jerked her head towards the stairs. As Sam, Tucker, and Raimee followed her, Vlad waved.

"Have fun!"

'_So what, this guy is famous or something?'_ Chaos asked as they made it to the first landing.

'_Yeah, he's super rich and very successful, but that's really all I know,' _Raimee informed her._ 'It's weird, we move down here and then we run into this guy who's from where we left? Talk about coincidences…'_

"I guess we could go into Danny's room?" Jazz wondered out loud as they lingered in the hallway. Raimee glanced between the three, noticing a silent exchange between Sam and Tucker before the goth answered.

"I think Danny said something about trying the Ops Center."

"The Ops Center?" Jazz tilted her head to the side. "Why?"

"Privacy," both she and Tucker said at the same time.

"What's the Ops Center?" Raimee questioned.

"The big hunk of metal on our roof," she heard Danny from behind her. She turned around to see him coming up the stairs. "It's the only way we can make sure no one will interrupt us without us knowing first."

"Oh," Raimee looked up at the ceiling.

'_Sweet! What do you think is up there?'_

'_Probably a bunch of things that could destroy you,'_ Raimee thought. _'His parents are ghost hunters.' _

'_Yeah, but it could still be sweet!'_

"Here, this way," Danny squeezed between them and headed down the hall.

"So Mom and Dad said it was okay?" Jazz asked.

"Yeah, 'as long as we're doing homework'," Danny gave her a wry smile.

"We might squeeze a little homework in," she protested, though she didn't sound confident. Danny just laughed.

"Maybe, but we've got more important things first." Though Raimee was a serious student she couldn't help but agree. This was going to be a very important discussion for all of them.

* * *

"Have fun!"

As the teens disappeared to the second floor, Vlad sat back in his chair with a smug smile spreading over his face. Raimee Perkings was here, and not just in Amity Park which he had already discovered with a little research, but at the Fenton's house with Danny of all people! This would simplify his plans considerably! Instead of having to search her out within the city, she had practically fallen into his lap.

Now he could focus his efforts on analyzing the girl and confirming that she was still harboring Chaos. If his brief interactions with them were any indication she was. Chaos had seemed too attached to Raimee to let the girl go and as his earlier investigation had concluded wherever Raimee went, paranormal events followed. He would prove his suspicions but meanwhile it was time to move on to the next phase in his plan.

Skulker would have to be notified that Chaos was most likely in the Amity Park area and that he should focus his hunt here. Depending on the time he arrived, Vlad could expect her to be captured by the end of the week. As he continued to mull over this change, he made a mental note to remind the hunter that he was there to capture Chaos and **not** to hunt Danny. That wouldn't be necessary this time around.

A noise to his right made Vlad look up and see Danny walking through the kitchen and towards the stairs, sending mistrustful glares at him the whole time. Vlad just smirked in response, internally amused at the teens timing. Just when he thought of the other half to his plot…

His goal wasn't only to take Chaos's powers but to take something else, something that was rightfully his and would hopefully **be** his in the near future. Technus was maintaining his end of their bargain beautifully and soon Vlad would be able to persuade Maddie that Jack really was as incompetent as he seemed. If he played his cards right, and he had every confidence that he would, then maybe Chaos wouldn't be the only one he took back to his castle in Wisconsin. He would just have to nudge a few pieces around and this game would be his.


End file.
